Insight into Services for Veterans’ Readjustment Issues
 

“I didn’t know these services were available to veterans.”  That pretty much was the reaction of many of the nearly 50 members and guests at the MOAA meeting on May 26, 2016, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Palm Coast.  But thanks to the evening’s program, that’s no longer the case.

Kimberly A. Shontz - Supervisor, Homeless Programs Daytona Outpatient Clinic (Orlando VA Medical Center) and Carla Howe - Veteran Outreach Program Specialist for the Daytona Beach Vet Center were the evening’s featured speakers, discussing the readjustment counseling services available to area combat veterans and their families. 

Established by Congress in 1979 for Vietnam Veterans, Vet Center services were extended in 1995 to include all war zone veterans and military/sexual harassment/assault victims of any era. Today, there are 300 Vet Centers throughout the United States, American Samoa, Guam and Puerto Rico.

With the goal of providing a broad range of services to help veterans and their families make satisfying post-military readjustments to civilian life, the services provided by the Center run the gamut from individual and group counseling to referral services such as drug and alcohol referral, benefits assistance referrals and community education and career referrals. Family outreach services are also provided and extend to the veteran’s spouse or significant other, any children, and even to the parents of combat veterans.

All services provided by the Vet Center are done so at no cost and are strictly confidential. Moreover, more than 65 percent of The Daytona Beach Vet Center staff are combat veterans who understand and appreciate veterans’ military experiences and the difficulties of post-military adjustment.

If you would like to know more about Vet Centers, visit  www.vetcenters.va.gov on the Internet. To speak with a local representative, call The Daytona Beach Vet Center at 386-366-6600.  True to their mantra: They care. They understand. They can help!