Burton Fraser learned Aug. 29 that the fatherhood group he was to attend that night at the Norwich Vet Center had been canceled. Fraser was disappointed — he calls the group his “medicine” — but figured it happens.

Soon, Fraser, a 39-year-old resident of Norwich, and three other veterans who attend the weekly group learned their counselor, Redinno Randell-Vaden, was leaving for a short time for personal reasons. The vets said Department of Veterans Affairs officials didn't tell them why Randell-Vaden abruptly departed.

“They took away my medicine,” said Fraser, an Army combat veteran who suffers from chronic post-traumatic stress disorder.

For the men, several of whom are combat veterans with various mental health conditions, the departure of Randell-Vaden, with whom several of the vets also met for individual counseling, was another setback among many they have experienced during and after their military service.

“For us veterans, once we get comfortable with a level of care, and then it's rescinded so abruptly like that, it becomes a loss, and a loss stirs a lot of feelings,” said Bob Fernandez, 53, a Navy veteran who lives in Franklin.

Fernandez said it took him close to 20 years to reach out and get help, and that he finally was feeling comfortable with the care he received at the Vet Center. Then he went without individual and group therapy for several weeks, he said.

“For two weeks in September, a counselor at the Norwich Vet Center was out of the office and unable to run his individual and group sessions, including a fatherhood group,” Jessica Schiefer, spokeswoman for the VA’s Vet Centers, said in an email Friday.

“Unfortunately, a group session during that two-week period needed to be canceled at the last minute. This was not an ideal situation as our staff and clients generally develop strong and trusting bonds,” Schiefer said.

Fraser, who has used the Vet Center for about two years, met weekly with Randell-Vaden for readjustment counseling to help him cope with chronic depression and anxiety.

During the weekly fatherhood group, Randell-Vaden counsels vets like Fraser, who has two sons and a daughter, on how to be better fathers. The men talk about what’s going on at home — issues with their spouses or raising their children — and give one another advice.

“Any time I can’t make it, it ruins my week,” said 38-year-old Wayne Turley, an Army veteran who lives in Ledyard, who regularly attends the fatherhood group and sees Randell-Vaden individually.

A few days after the Aug. 29 meeting was canceled, a group of veterans met at Fraser’s house to discuss what was going on.

“To get some equilibrium because there was none,” Turley said.

Marine Corps veteran Daniel Lambert of Uncasville, a 37-year-old father of two who also attends the group regularly, spent the next couple weeks messaging other veterans about whether they were OK. 

"To this day I still send them messages," Lambert said.

The following week, another counselor from the Vet Center “supported the group to ensure continuity until the original counselor returned,” spokeswoman Schiefer said in her email.

The veterans said Shari Dorman, center director at the time, led the Sept. 5 meeting to which Schiefer referred. Fraser and Lambert said they and other veterans told Dorman they didn't think a woman was qualified to run a fatherhood group, and they thought Randell-Vaden, whom they call "Dino" or "Mr. R," was doing a good job.

Schiefer said the center has hired a new office manager, counselor and outreach worker and has a new director scheduled to begin in January. She didn't offer a reason for the turnover or say why the former director left.

"These new hires will assist in providing veterans, active duty service members and their families consistent services from counselors they have grown to trust and rely on in the Norwich area,” she said.

During Randell-Vaden's absence, some of the veterans reached out to members of Connecticut's congressional delegation, including U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, who said in a statement that a member of his staff has been in "contact with the VA to address the problem."

"As the VA works to address staffing issues in Norwich, we will continue to work to ensure that any gap in care will be mitigated and addressed as quickly as possible," Courtney said.

Fraser said Randell-Vaden called him and the other veterans in early October and said he was coming back. He has since been reinstated. But the VA never acknowledged the disruption to their care or apologized, the veterans said.

“To date, we still have not been given a reason why there was a break in our treatment or the conditions surrounding it,” Fraser said. “The VA should have something in place for when something like this happens. If someone passes away, is fired, gets sick and is unable to do their work, there needs to be a contingency plan to maintain continuity of care for the veterans.”

j.bergman@theday.com