Washington- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will soon open a new Vet Center in Lancaster to help those recently returned from combat zones. The center, set to open in 2010, will offer readjustment counseling and outreach services for both veterans and their family members. These services are earned through service and provided at no cost.

Rep. Pitts Statement Follows:

“Veterans should take full advantage of these readjustment services as they transition back into civilian life. Currently, 16th District residents must travel to Harrisburg or Philadelphia to take advantage of Vet Center help. As a veteran myself, I’m glad to see that the Department of Veterans Affairs will soon provide these critical services in Lancaster County, but veterans who need help now should not hesitate to contact the VA.”

More information on Vet Centers is available at 1-800-905-4675 or online at www.vetcenter.va.gov. Rep. Pitts district office is also available to assist veterans with any issue and can be reached at 717-393-0667.

Background from Veterans Affairs

The existing 232 centers conduct community outreach offering counseling on employment, family issues and education to combat veterans and family members. Staffs also offer bereavement counseling for families of servicemembers killed on active duty and counseling for veterans who were sexually harassed on active duty.

They are staffed by small multidisciplinary teams, which may include social workers, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, master's-level counselors and outreach specialists. More than 70 percent of vet center employees are veterans themselves, a majority of whom served in combat zones.

The vet center program was established in 1979 by Congress, recognizing that many Vietnam veterans were still having readjustment problems. In 2008, the Vet Center program provided more than 1.1 million visits to over 167,000 veterans, including over 53,000 visits by more than 14,500 veteran families.

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