JOINT BASE-MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST – Service personnel at the base now have a new access point for certain special services at the base thanks to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
That agency partnered with the Department of Defense to open a Vet Center Community Access Point on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JB MDL).
It provides confidential counseling for eligible veterans and service members, including members of the National Guard and Reserves and their families. It is a satellite of the Trenton Vet Center and will provide onsite services in a therapeutic and friendly environment to active duty and veterans who work or reside near the base.
The VA operates 300 Vet Centers across the country in every state and territory, providing confidential counseling, community engagement and referral services to other VA or community resources.
Individual, group, couples, and family counseling is offered to make a successful transition from military to civilian life or after a traumatic event experienced in the military. Families may also use Vet Centers to help cope with the deployment of a loved one.
These services extend beyond the 300 locations, through more than 80 Mobile Vet Centers and over 20 Vet Center outstations, and nearly 1,000 Community Access Points. Community partners make access points possible, by providing donated space on a routine basis for Vet Center counselors and outreach staff to deliver a wide range of services and reduce time or distance to care.
Trenton Vet Center Director Dr. Mildred Nti said she and her team worked very closely with JB MDL Base Command to expedite this partnership and bring Vet Center services directly to those seeking them on base.
“This is an exciting opportunity for our team to deliver the important mental health services our eligible veterans and service members earned in an inviting, convenient and accessible location in their community,” Dr. Nti said.
“We’ve received such a warm welcome from JB MDL Base Commander Colonel Bert W. Adams, Violence Prevention Integrator and Suicide Prevention Program Manager, Janis Doss, and Community Support Coordinator, Crista Brady-Szabo and are eager to get started,” she added.
“Our civilian employees are veterans too, so the ability for this community to have Vet Center services and support available for our military members and families will help ease their transition from military to civilian life,” Doss added.
The Vet Center will offer services by appointment only at 5418 South Scott Plaza, McDonald Hall, Suite 131, Fort Dix. The office will be open every Wednesday thereafter from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Those looking to schedule an appointment should call the Trenton Vet Center at 609-882-5744.
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