Getting Help from Vet Centers
Life isn’t always easy after a deployment. That’s where Vet Centers can help. Vet Centers across the country provide a broad range of counseling, outreach, and referral services to combat Veterans and their families. Vet Centers guide Veterans and their families through many of the major adjustments in lifestyle that often occur after a Veteran returns from combat
Services for a Veteran may include individual and group counseling in areas such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)h2, alcohol or drug misuse assessment, and suicide prevention referrals. All services are FREE of cost and are STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL.
They understand, and most of all, they care.
They are the people in VA who welcome home war veterans with honor by providing quality readjustment counseling in a caring manner. Vet Centers understand and appreciate Veterans’ war experiences while assisting them and their family members toward a successful post-war adjustment in or near their community.
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Vet Centers provide community-based counseling, outreach, and referral services to eligible Veterans who served in any combat zone and their families. Services include counseling for transitioning and readjustment, military sexual trauma, and issues related to marriage, family, and bereavement. Referrals to VA mental health care, employment, education, and other services and benefits are also provided.
More than 300 Vet Centers are located throughout the United States. Veterans living in rural areas may also access these services through Mobile Vet Centers (MVCs), which travel from county to county to reach as many Veteran as possible.
Learn moreabout Vet Centers and MVCs or find one near you for fast access to quality VA care.
Readjustment Counseling
Readjustment counseling is a wide range of psycho social services offered to eligible Veterans, Service members, and their families in the effort to make asuccessful transition from military to civilian life. They include:
- Individual and group counseling for Veterans, Service members, and their families
- Family counseling for military related issues
- Bereavement counselingfor families who experience an active duty death
- Military sexual trauma counseling and referral
- Outreach and education including PDHRA, community events, etc.
- Substance abuseassessment and referral
- Employment assessment & referral
- VBA benefitsexplanation and referrals
- Screening & referral for medical issues includingTBI,depression, etc.
Does VA Have Readjustment Counseling for Family Members?
YES. Family members of combat Veterans and Service members have been eligible for Vet Center readjustment counseling services for military related issues since 1979.
Am I Eligible for Vet Center Readjustment Counseling?
If you, or a family member, served in any combat zone and received a military campaign ribbon (Vietnam, Southwest Asia, OEF, OIF, etc.)then both you and your family are eligible for Vet Center services.
Where is Counseling Offered?
VA’s readjustment counseling is provided at community-based Vet Centers located in easily accessable neighborhoods near Veterans, Service members, and their families, yet separate from VA organizational sites to ensure confidential counseling and reduce barriers to care. All Vet Center services are prepaid through military service. Contact your nearest Vet Center through information provided in the Vet Center Directory or listings in your local blue pages. Vet Center staff are available toll free and around the clock at 877-WAR-VETS (927-8387).
Are Vet Centers Open During Non-Traditional Hours?
Yes, all Vet Centers maintain non-traditional appointment schedules, after normal business hours, to accomodate the schedules of Veterans, Service members, and their family members.
Vet Centers are your FREE and CONFIDENTIAL gateway to all you’ve earned. For starters, they’ll help you get registered with the VA, file claims and appeals, and assist you in navigating the path to dealing with whatever issues are causing your difficulties.
They will help you directly, with highly trained, empathetic and effective staff (most of whom are vets themselves), and they can get you to the specialists you need, to live your best life.
They will listen carefully, in confidence, to what is really going on and provide strong, compassionate help, in any way or form you need it.
Confidential, Even from the VA
Even though Vet Centers are part of the VA, they are set up to be confidential. If you have VA records, your Vet Center counselor can see them. But the VA cannot see your records at the Vet Center, so you can talk about anything and the VA or your commander will not know that you even had an appointment.
Even though Vet Centers are a part of the VA, your county, along with federal money, pays all the costs, so it is FREE to you.
Don’t let another day of pain or confusion rule your life. Take one step forward on a path that can give you relief from the torment. Call your local Vet center NOW! You can find yours by going to our Self Help page and putting in your zip code.
Non-VA Local Help
Know A Vet? presents this information and these national resource directories, not as a recommendation of any specific service or provider, but as a starting point for your own research.
Please feel free to use the check sheets Before, During and After the Medical Appointment and Choosing a Medical Service Provider to help you in your search for the best help for your individual circumstances.
In addition, there may be other federal, state and local government or private resources for your individual needs.
VA, Government, and Organization Help
Know A Vet? presents this information and these national resource directories, not as a recommendation of any specific service or provider, but as a starting point for your own research.
Clicking here will bring you to a database of other VA services you can locate by zip code.
Please also check out our page on Filing Claims. We recommend that you do NOT file claims on your own. If you do not file exactly the way the VA looks for information, it can take literally years for your claim to go back and forth before approval or denial.
The other resources listed, such as your local Veterans Service Office (names vary by county), VSO counselor, VFW, etc., will help you determine what you are eligible for and file correctly for results in as little as a few weeks.
Learn More – Get More
Learn more about what it feels like to live your best life. Go to our Self Help page to explore other issues that can bring you “All The Way Home.”
Also, check out the Claims and Appeals topic to maximize compensation and benefits for yourself AND your loved ones.
It’s your turn to get your best life back! You EARNED it with your service!
