Orlando Vets Center Open House
PTSD PatrolKathie Costos
November 4, 2018
You know when there is something going on with your vehicle. It just doesn't seem to be running right. As you drive down streets, you hope it does not breakdown in traffic or on some isolated road.
Oh, sure you have a cellphone to call for help, but while you are waiting, you never know what is going to happen, or how long you'll be stuck there.
While waiting for a tow truck you start to think about what the mechanics will find wrong with it. Most of the time, it is an easy fix. Sometimes it takes a lot more work than you thought it would.
When the vehicle you live in is not running right, it works the same way. When you are not running right, you may breakdown and feel stuck. If you call for help, and get to a mechanic for what you need, then, sometimes it is an easy fix, but other times, it takes a lot more work.
Yesterday we went out to the Orlando Vets Center for their open house. Actually it should have been called hope'n house, because that is what they are dedicated to doing.
Vets Centers started in 1979.Who We Are
We are the people in VA who welcome home war veterans with honor by providing quality readjustment counseling in a caring manner. Vet Centers understand and appreciate Veterans’ war experiences while assisting them and their family members toward a successful post-war adjustment in or near their community.
VET CENTER HISTORY
The Vet Center Program was established by Congress in 1979 out of the recognition that a significant number of Vietnam era vets were still experiencing readjustment problems.
Vet Centers are community based and part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In April 1991, in response to the Persian Gulf War, Congress extended the eligibility to veterans who served during other periods of armed hostilities after the Vietnam era.
Those other periods are identified as Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, and Kosovo/Bosnia. In October 1996, Congress extended the eligibility to include WWII and Korean Combat Veterans. The goal of the Vet Center program is to provide a broad range of counseling, outreach, and referral services to eligible veterans in order to help them make a satisfying post-war readjustment to civilian life.
On April 1, 2003 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs extended eligibility for Vet Center services to veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and on June 25, 2003 Vet Center eligibility was extended to veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and subsequent operations within the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT).
The family members of all veterans listed above are eligible for Vet Center services as well. On August 5, 2003 VA Secretary Anthony J. Principi authorized Vet Centers to furnish bereavement counseling services to surviving parents, spouses, children and siblings of service members who die of any cause while on active duty, to include federally activated Reserve and National Guard personnel.
We understand, and most of all, we care.
Vet Centers have group sessions, therapists, all the usual things you have come to know. They also have yoga, Tai Chi, art, music, and a lot more. Just like with the vehicle you drive, you are not the same as others on the road.
For some, one thing works great, but may not be what you need. What you need may not be what your buddy needs. That is what the mechanics at the Vet Centers are there for. They will find what will work best for you to have a better ride the rest of your life!
You can support what is vital to helping them heal...like the work being done at the Vets Center, or you could keep supporting the demon and share the topic that could kill them.
