The Department of Veterans Affairs announced the addition of three new Vet Centers and six Vet Center Outstations to improve access to counseling for veterans and service members.
Vet centers are community-based counseling centers that provide a wide range of social and psychological services, including no-cost professional counseling to eligible veterans, service members and their families.
Services include counseling for needs such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder and the psychological effects of military sexual trauma. Vet centers also provide referrals to connect veterans with their VA healthcare or benefits. In fiscal year 2023, more than 115,000 veterans, service members, and their families received counseling at VA’s 300+ Vet Centers nationwide.
The new Vet Centers and Outstations will be located in Arizona, California, Minnesota, New Jersey, Tennessee, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.
Vet Center counselors and outreach staff, many of whom are veterans themselves, are experienced and prepared to discuss the tragedies of war, loss, grief and transition after trauma. Vet Center teams proactively work in the community, reducing barriers to care and improving access to care.
