December 4, 2019 400 PM
TRI-COUNTY — Veterans in Jeff Davis, Presidio and Brewster County are invited aboard the mobile veterans center December 11 and 12 to receive counseling, file claims and learn more about veterans assistance benefits that are free, confidential and available to veterans, active duty service members, reserve, guard and their families.
The mobile service center arrives in Alpine on Wednesday, December 11 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the parking lot on Avenue E between 7th and 8th Street, and the center will be stationed outside Marfa’s USO Building on Thursday, December 12 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., before rolling on to Fort Davis’s Chamber of Commerce that afternoon from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Vet center counselors and outreach staff, many of whom are veterans themselves, are experienced and prepared to discuss the tragedies of war, loss, grief and transition after trauma. Services include post-traumatic stress, military sexual trauma and bereavement counseling; marriage and family therapy; resources for suicide intervention; substance abuse screening and referral; and assistance with VA benefits.
LeAnne Thornton, a veteran outreach specialist, said veterans at the mobile center can file claims for disability for any injuries that happened while in service. “Maybe they broke a bone, maybe they were a paratrooper and their knees are shot,” she said. “Even if they filed a claim, it’s possible they could get an upgrade and get a higher percentage.”
Thornton wants to break through the frustrations that sometimes come with veterans trying to handle care on their own. “If we don’t have an answer, we will get the answer and give it to them, so they don’t have to go searching.”
The center will assist those who have never applied with the VA for healthcare, connect veterans with counseling and provide a place for veterans to come, sit and talk, in areas that are often rural and underserved.
For more information, contact the Midland Vet Center at 432-697-8222.
Veterans in crisis, or friends and family concerned about one, can connect with caring, qualified responders at VA’s Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255, text 838255, or www.veteranscrisisline.net.
