Submitted by City of Lacey
LACEY, WA, December 14, 2012: The City of Lacey is partnering with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Tacoma Vet Center to provide services and resources to eligible Thurston County Veterans and their families, making trips to the nearest Vet Center in Tacoma a thing of the past.
“Thurston County is home to nearly 21,000 veterans,” commented Lacey Mayor Virgil Clarkson. “We’re very pleased that vital VA programs and assistance can now be accessed locally.”
Services are offered from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. the first and third Thursday of each month from a state-of-the-art, mobile center parked at Lacey City Hall, 420 College Street SE. The 38-foot, $300,000 vehicle includes confidential areas for individual and small-group counseling, as well as a business center with satellite-enabled communication. One of 50 such vehicles in the country, it’s the only unit based in Washington.
Assistance at the Lacey location includes Department of Veterans Affairs benefits explanation and referral; employment referral; medical referral; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse assessment and referral; military sexual trauma counseling and referral; marriage and family counseling; suicide prevention referral; and support for successful transition from military to civilian life.
“In keeping with Secretary Shinseki’s plan to increase outreach to Veterans living in rural or under-served areas, we are honored to provide these services to our fellow Veterans and the communities in which they live,” said Mark Buckler of the Tacoma Vet Center.
Appointments in Lacey can be made by calling the Tacoma Vet Center at (253) 565-7038 or (877) 927-8387. Drop-in visits are also accepted on a space available basis.
