Technology: Struggling VA Employees Seek Help on Reddit
Reddit’s r/VA Benefits forum gives federal workers assistance in navigating the Veterans Administration, where they face benefits shortfalls during their own government shutdown.
Reddit, the popular internet forum, is hosting a de facto helpline for anxious federal workers relying on a troubled government agency for benefits, according to a New York Times report.
Last month, federal workers started resorting to the platform to find assistance navigating the Veterans Administration, where they confront potential delayed benefits during the ongoing government shutdown.
The forum, Reddit’s r/VA Benefits, was created more than five years ago by federal VA employee Michael Taylor to address veterans’ issues, but has since become a nexus for furloughed employees in search of answers, according to The Times.
Taylor, a computer engineer at the VA’s National Center for Technology Innovation in Salt Lake City, said that the forum gained hundreds of new members after the shutdown started, while questions about delayed benefits shot up from just about a handful per day to more than 200-300 inquiries a day.
Taylor’s platform is now a lifeline for those government workers who are increasingly becoming reliant on VA benefits, which though less than what they receive in other federal agencies are the sole source of income for furloughed workers without pay.
Although some VA workers are finding it tough to pay bills on where their next paycheck will come from, Reddit’s forum has rallied together its members to help out furloughed employees with their finances through small donations.
The platform has already raised around $4,500 in donations, out of which $3,000 were taken up by an automated system running a Reddit donation page set up to help workers, The Times reported.
Making use of technology, members of Reddit’s r/VA Benefits forum leverage on Reddit’s screening feature to verify if federal workers are genuine, according to the report. They screen comments posted by people who are active on social media (say Facebook) and have posted proof-related content about being a federal worker, The Times said.
The VA’s failure to address the needs of furloughed employees has created an atmosphere where workers see no other option but to seek solace in platforms like Reddit, according to Taylor.
The number of people seeking instant help with their VA benefits are growing by the day at the forum. Taylor remarked in an interview with the Times that he has received emails from people saying they intended to retire, and then take up unpaid work during their retirement period, all to keep afloat during the government shutdown, The Times said.
Apart from raising funds and becoming a guiding star for some, the forum has also helped the VA take feedback from people who have fallen through the cracks and unintentionally lost access to VA medical care, benefits, and employment, according to the report.
One problem, reported in the NY Times, is with deferred direct loan payments. Direct loans—which make up $46 billion of all VA loans according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—have started drawing interest on unpaid balances, which can lead to delayed payments and ultimately home foreclosures. According to the article, veterans are now confronted with the loss of access to loan benefits in addition to the delay experienced in the processing of their unemployment claims.
The shortfall in benefits also adds another layer of stress for federal workers who have already fallen behind on rent, utility bills, and other household expenses. Overall, 78% of poll respondents to a recent bank survey showed some financial impact, as reported by the Times.
Reddit’s r/VA Benefits forum members are also reporting that they are having to pay for their healthcare costs out of pocket, some out-of-pocket expenditures exceeding $3,000, according to The Times.
“Everybody’s kinda in it together,” said Rachel Teitt in an appearance on CBS News Sunday Morning, who’s a nonprofit program administrator at The District of Columbia Rape Crisis Center that’s partially funded by the federal government. “Everyone is stressed. Everyone is worried.” Teitt reported that at least 115 people are currently furloughed right now, a number that has not been seen since 2011.
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