BACKGROUND OF READJUSTMENT COUNSELING SERVICE |
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| 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 and Somalia. In October 1996, Congress extended the eligibility to include WWII and Korean Combat Veterans. Authorization for Vet Centers to provide the full range of readjustment counseling to the veterans who served in Bosnia and Kosovo was approved in May 2000. 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. | ||
Vet Center Values |
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| Trauma Counseling - To ensure the highest quality of counseling for posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms delivered in accessible community settings. Special Populations - To reach out to disenfranchised and under-served veterans. Networking - To establish working relationships with local, state, and federal organizations to assist veterans who are readjusting from military to civilian life. Wellness - To promote wellness activities with veterans to help them reach quality health and life goals and diminish the need for more intensive health care. Leadership - To serve as the leaders in provision of treatment and outreach for veterans suffering from war trauma and connect veterans to appropriate resources to compassionately heal that trauma. Management - To provide a cost effective system of community based Vet Centers bringing services to eligible veterans. Transitional Assistance - To assist transitioning military personnel with professional readjustment services. |
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| Vet Centers serve veterans and their families by providing a continuum of quality care that adds value for veterans, families, and communities. Care includes professional readjustment counseling, community education, outreach to special populations, the brokering of services with community agencies, and provides a key access link between the veteran and other services in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. | ||
| The Vet Center provides: | ||
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ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES
War Zone Veterans - all eras, including:
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PTSD |
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| Post Traumatic Stress is a normal set of reactions to a trauma such as war, which could be experienced by almost anyone. Sometimes, it becomes a Disorder (PTSD) with the passage of time when feelings or issues related to the trauma are not dealt with, but are suppressed by the individual. This can result in problems readjusting to community life following the trauma. A delayed stress reaction may surface after many years and include some or all of the following problems: |
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CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY |
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| Vet Center Staff respect the privacy of all veterans. We hold in the strictest confidence all information disclosed in the counseling process. No information will be released to any person or agency without written consent from the client, except in circumstances averting a crisis. | ||
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| Martin Vet Center 105 East Highway 18 Martin, SD 57551 Phone: 605-685-1300 Fax: 605-685-1406 |