VA provides outreach and readjustment counseling services through 232 community-based Vet Centers located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Eligibility: Veterans are eligible if they served on active duty in a combat theater during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, or the campaigns in Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and the Global War on Terror. Veterans, who served in the active military during the Vietnam-era, but not in the Republic of Vietnam, must have requested services at a Vet Center before Jan. 1, 2004. Vet Centers do not require enrollment in the VHA Health Care System.
Services Offered: Vet Center counselors provide individual, group, and family readjustment counseling to combat veterans to assist them in making a successful transition from military to civilian life; counseling services treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and help with any other military related problems that affect functioning within the family, work, school or other areas of everyday life; other psycho-social services include outreach, education, medical referral, homeless veteran services, employment, VA benefit referral, and the brokering of non-VA services. The Vet Centers also provide military sexual trauma counseling to Veterans of both genders and of any era of military service.
Bereavement Counseling related to Servicemembers: Bereavement counseling is available through Department of Veterans Affairs (VA’s) Vet Centers to all immediate family members (including spouses, children, parents, and siblings) of service members who die in the line of duty while on active service. This includes federally-activated members of the National Guard and reserve components. Vet Center bereavement services for surviving family members of service members may be accessed by calling (202) 461-6530.
For additional information, contact the nearest Vet Center, listed in the back of this book, or visit www.vetcenter.va.gov