Paid help for filing VA disability claim?

[MoseyingAlong]

Have you or anyone you know used a company/consultant/lawyer to help with a VA disability claim?
I'm trying to help a friend with an claim for mental health issues from 20+ years ago. The issues first showed up and treatment started while still in the service so it seems to me they are service-related. As you may expect, their bandwidth for dealing with the claim is low so I'm trying to find out if hiring some help would be worthwhile.

If you did, do you recommend it?
What did they do for you? Some specialized knowledge and/or kept pushing the claim when you got tired?
How much did they charge?

Thanks for any info you can share.

Any recommendations for whom to use or avoid?

[Rural]

Check with the individual state Department of Veterans Affairs first. Most (all?) will help with exactly this sort of thing. We've found them invaluable in navigating the federal bureaucracy.
https://department.va.gov/about/state-departments-of-veterans-affairs-office-locations/

[MoseyingAlong]

@Rural Thanks for that suggestion.

@Nords  was very generous with some info/advice in a PM a while ago. It seems like just the thought of everything needed is overwhelming my friend. So trying to come up with some way to lower the barriers. I'll look into the state.

[Mountainbug]

There are VSO programs and those people will guide you through the claim process. They are not all equally helpful but I’ve heard good things about them. Check out your DAV or VFW as well.