TRAVERSE CITY -- Northern Michigan veterans will have a shorter commute to get counseling services, Friday was the grand opening of a new vet center in Traverse City.
In the last two years more than 90,000 troops have come home from Iraq. The remaining 50,000 are all set to be home by the end of this year.
A recently published medical study that surveyed soldiers returning from war shows that one month before coming home, almost 8% showed signs of post traumatic stress disorder.
A year after they got home that number jumped to a little more than 18%. The data shows how important centers like the one opening in Traverse City really are.
7&4's Kate Fox toured the new facility and found out why Traverse City was chosen.
The team leader of the center tells me because of the large number of troops coming home -- the US Secretary of Veteran Affairs decided to open 28 new clinics across the country. Traverse City got one because of the high concentration of vets in the area.
Traverse City Vet Center 455 Team leader Bill Fowle says, "This kind of service is wonderful to offer to our veterans who answered the call and now we're providing the services they need as they come back into civilian life."
Fowle says now northern Michigan vets don't have to travel to Grand Rapids to take advantage of free and confidential services.
Vietnam Veteran John Lefler says, "To have this in Traverse City it’s an incredible opportunities for the veterans in the area."
Vet Center 455 located on US-31 North in Traverse City will provide readjustment counseling and outreach services to veterans who served in any combat zone and to veterans who have been harassed, sexually abused, or suffer from post traumatic stress disorder.
Fowle says, "When you’re in a combat situation simple decisions are life and death, when you come back into the community things are not necessarily life and death, however it's very difficult to turn off that switch."
Fowle says the team at the new center is made up of licensed clinical social workers--all of which are veterans themselves. He explains, "So when I talk to the veteran I am able to speak their language, I recognize many experiences they've had"
For veterans that can't make it out to Traverse City, they also offer a Mobile Vet Center that can bring the services to you.
Rebecca Berndt-Downen from the Mobile Vet Center says, "We will go to all the rural areas wherever veterans might be--if there's a veteran who’s disabled and is wheel chair bound--we will go there to serve that veteran."
Fowle says veterans can drop in or call whenever and that they'll be given an appointment with a counselor immediately.
Traverse City Vet Center #445: 3766 N. US 31 South, Traverse City, MI 49684
Contact number: (231) 935-0051
