CHEYENNE, Wyo. \u2013 For years, a small office suite tucked into a nondescript strip mall has provided a lifeline for veterans with mental health issues. It\u2019s one of hundreds of tiny centers across the United States designed to act as a refuge for veterans in crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But last month, the office manager, a Marine veteran with a glowing performance review, was fired as part of sweeping cuts<\/a> across the Department of Veterans Affairs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The manager, Carla Nelson, was the person who greeted every veteran at the front door. She was the one whose voice they heard when they called in seeking help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Her termination and the potential for wider cuts have caused concern in the veteran community in Wyoming. Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, more than 140,000 vets have lost their lives to suicide<\/a> nationwide, according to the VA, five times more deaths than in the conflicts themselves. And the veteran suicide rate in Wyoming is 50% higher than the national average, according to the latest VA data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe lose too many,\u201d said Justin Tripp, a Navy veteran who is now the Wyoming state commander for the VFW. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The issue is personal for Tripp. He said a good friend whom he had served alongside died by suicide recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat transition to civilian life \u2014 that\u2019s where we lose a lot of people to suicide.\u201d Tripp added. \u201cThey don\u2019t have a good transition. They\u2019re not getting help for their mental illness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roughly 40,000 veterans reside in Wyoming. They and others who live in rural areas tend to have lower incomes than their urban counterparts, and they often struggle to make it to appointments that can be hours away. They also rely on VA services more than those living in urban areas, according to VA data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The system that serves these veterans is now bracing for much more significant cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week, VA departments went through staff, line by line, identifying who was \u201cmission critical\u201d and who could be fired as part of a plan for 80,000 layoffs, according to two current VA sources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe real pain is coming,\u201d said one VA official who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. \u201cIf we can\u2019t provide the care in these rural communities, there isn\u2019t another option, especially for mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an interview with NBC News, Nelson, the fired office manager, said veterans came from all over the state and beyond to get help for post-traumatic stress disorder and other serious mental health issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe deal with crisis situations,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cSome traveled up to an hour to get there, and even some came from Nebraska.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike a VA hospital, small centers like the one where Nelson worked offer an informal setting where veterans can walk in for help. She had been working there since May 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs a veteran herself, she listens with empathy,\u201d read her October 2024 performance <\/strong>review, according to a copy obtained by NBC News. \u201cShe is the first person our clients come into contact with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her manager also wrote that her customer service with veterans was “always exceptional.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nelson was at work Feb. 24 when she received an email informing her that she was terminated. \u201cNobody was pre-warned about any of this,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cNobody knew.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A federal judge has ordered probationary employees like Nelson to be reinstated, but for many the situation remains unclear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n VA press secretary Pete Kasperowicz did not respond to specific questions about Nelson’s status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cVA is complying with the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland\u2019s March 13 temporary restraining order and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California\u2019s March 13 preliminary injunction related to probationary employees,” he said in a statement. “We cannot comment further due to pending litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n VA Secretary Doug Collins has sought to reassure those who are worried about how the cuts will impact veterans directly. \u201cWe\u2019re going to accomplish this without making cuts to healthcare or benefits to veterans and VA beneficiaries,\u201d he said in a YouTube<\/a> post March 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tripp, of the VFW, said he agrees that the VA could benefit from some streamlining. But he believes that terminating someone like Nelson will have consequences for veterans in need of help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI would be concerned with positions that are front-line positions that touch veterans every day,:\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019d want to make sure that somebody\u2019s at the front door so if a veteran walked in in a crisis, they would be there to help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Others in Cheyenne said they were concerned about impending cuts but feared that speaking publicly would make them a target, especially because 70% of the state voted for Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One VA employee, who lives in a Western state and spoke anonymously out of fear of retaliation, said the loss of support staff will impact clinical care because fewer appointments will be made. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While the VA has made great strides in improving telehealth services to assist rural veterans, some are still unable to access them, advocates say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chauncey Parker, who runs Great Plains Veterans Service Center in northern Montana, uses a federal grant to pay a network of veterans who drive fellow vets to appointments. He said the VA\u2019s expansion into telehealth has helped significantly, but some vets don\u2019t have access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSome of them don\u2019t have the connectivity in the first place,\u201d Parker said, \u201cso that in-person visit with their health care provider is about all they have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n