Next Tuesday, the Department of Veterans Affairs Mobile Vet Center will be making a stop in Poplarville at Pearl River Community College.
The mobile center is based in Pensacola, Fla., Pensacola Veterans Center office manager Mike McGreevy said.
The VA’s readjustment program counseling services was created in 1979 as a means of providing assistance to veterans of the Vietnam War, McGreevy said. There are more than 300 veteran centers in the country, including Guam and Puerto Rico. However, not all veterans have easy access to the centers and this service, he said.
“The VA now has 70 mobile centers that operate in remote areas,” McGreevy said. “Vet center staff offer free readjustment counseling services for active duty and all combat veterans who served in a designated conflict beginning with World War II.”
According to a PRCC release, the services offered include, help with post-traumatic stress disorder and individual, group and family readjustment counseling regarding making a successful transition from combat to civilian life.
Another service offered is military sexual trauma counseling, McGreevy said.
“The Mobile Vet Clinic has been pretty effective in reaching veterans, but it also brings awareness to what the VA is doing and the services provided,” McGreevy said. “We can reach our veterans in a setting that’s not as clinical. It’s a welcoming atmosphere where staff provide a warm reception.”
PRCC VA Certifying Official Gloria Wasmund said that some veterans have difficulty returning from active duty and readjusting to life as a civilian.
“Some veterans may not be aware of the services provided by the VA or have access to a center,” Wasmund said. “The mobile center brings the service to the person, instead of the person to the service. It’s an ideal way for the VA to reach people in need.”
According to the release, all client information is kept confidential.
The mobile center will be at the PRCC campus on Tuesday, March 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will be in the parking lot of the south side of Crosby Hall, the release states.
PRCC is located at 101 Hwy. 11, N. in Poplarville.
For more information about vet center services in and around the Gulf Coast, contact the Biloxi Vet Center at 228-388-9938, the release states.
Learn more about VA Vet Centers at www.vetcenter.va.gov. Veterans interested in speaking confidentially with a vet center counselor any time can call 1-877-927-8387.