The Mobile Vet Center of Green Bay rolled into the Shawano Walmart parking lot Tuesday as part of a nationwide initiative to reach veterans in every county and territory of the U.S.
Counselor Jim Harsh said the Mobile Center has already visited half of Wisconsin’s 72 counties since the yearlong campaign began in March.
“The primary way we have been successful is through word-of-mouth,” Harsh said. “Part of this outreach program is just being more visible and getting the county veterans service officers more aware that we are out there and that we will do what we can to support veterans.”
Harsh said the mission of Vet Centers throughout the nation, which were established in 1979 under the umbrella of Veterans Affairs, is to provide outreach and counseling to combat veterans struggling with issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anger management and readjustment problems.
With the help of mobile units, Vet Center representatives can reach veterans who might be incapable of traveling to the brick-and-mortar centers, Harsh said.
“This vehicle is a rolling office,” Harsh said. “We can do anything that you would do out of the Vet Center out of this vehicle.”
The Green Bay vehicle, which has been in operation since 2012, travels to veterans resource fairs, welcome home events for soldiers and high-traffic areas in communities to distribute information about counseling services and benefits for vets.
“We want to get the word out that (the Vet Center) is here and supporting vets in the community,” Harsh said. “We have always had an outreach component. This has just been more of a push this past year.”
Brooke Burich, the Vet Center’s outreach coordinator and administrative assistant, said the number of contacts they make at each location varies.
“It kind of depends on what the event is,” Burich said. “People see us, and they get curious and ask us what this is. Sooner or later, you find out that their cousin’s uncle was in Vietnam.”
Shawano County Veterans Officer Nick Benzinger said the services provided by the Vet Center can be a faster alternative to waiting for placement in the VA health care system. He said vets seeking counseling may receive attention in a matter of days or weeks at the Vet Center.
“As the veterans service officer, I am always interested in providing services to Shawano County,” Benzinger said. “As other events present themselves we invite them out.”
Benzinger said he has worked with a number of veterans who were not receiving the benefits they were entitled to because they were unaware of what they qualified for. He said the visit from the Mobile Vet Center campaign was a great opportunity for local vets.
“If we get one veteran who hasn’t gotten benefits before, who hasn’t gotten help before, it’s money well spent, because otherwise that one veteran is not dealing with this post-traumatic stress disorder or other issues that they might have been having,” Benzinger said.
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