South Bend Vet Center
We offer confidential help for Veterans, service members, and their families at no cost in a non-medical setting. Our services include counseling for needs such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the psychological effects of military sexual trauma (MST). We can also connect you with more support in VA and your community.
Our commitment
- We offer a range of services, from talk therapy to recreational activities. Our team will work with you to identify your goals and make a plan to meet them. We'll help you and your family build meaningful connections to improve your quality of life.
- Our counseling is confidential. We won’t share any information about you or the services you receive without your permission—except in a life-threatening situation. Our records can't be accessed by other VA offices, the Defense Department, military units, or community providers.
- We encourage you to contact us, even if you're not sure you're eligible. We'll find a way to connect you with the help you need.
Locations and contact information
Main Location
Direct line
Hours
- Mon. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Tue. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Wed. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Thu. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Fri. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Sat. Closed
- Sun. Closed
Other locations
Vet Centers are community based to be more accessible in areas where you live.
We also have non-traditional hours that change periodically given our community’s needs. Please call us to find out more.
Need help after hours?
Our call center is available 24/7. Call us anytime at 877-927-8387.
Prepare for your visit
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First time visitor? Stop by during our office hours or give us a call and let’s discuss how we can help.
- Masks are required inside the building.
- Many of our services are available on a walk-in basis, by telephone, or through telehealth.
- Services at our Community Access Points are available by appointment only.
You can also call 574-231-8480 to schedule an appointment with one of our counselors.
Non-traditional hours are available.
We have parking spaces on the side and rear of the building. Please feel free to park in any available space.
We are located across the street from Kohl's Department Store in Erskine Village.
We have accessible parking and an accessible entrance to the Vet Center available.
Bus
The Route 6 South Michigan/Erskine Village makes stops across the street from our center.
You don’t need to be registered for care at VA, rated for a service connected disability, or receiving any other form of VA benefits. On your first visit, we'll look for one or more of the following:
- Discharge documents (such as DD-214)
- Receipt of certain awards
- Deployment orders
- Other documents that show qualifying military service
Request your military service records online
If you don’t have any of these documents on hand, come in and we can work with you to establish your eligibility and also answer any questions you might have.
In the spotlight
New Vet Centers and Satellite Locations Announced
To improve access to counseling, we are adding three Vet Centers and six satellite locations across the US and its territories. We will continue to expand our program to meet Veteran demand and provide local support to those who served.
Guitars for Vets (G4V)
Come and learn to play the guitar.
Guitars for Vets is dedicated to providing relief to struggling Veterans through the healing power of music and community. Call us at 574-231-8480 to join the group or for more info.
2024 Stand Down Sechedule
Friday, April 12: Kosciusko County
Friday, May 10: Marshall County
Saturday, June 15: Elkhart County
Friday, July 19: St. Joseph County
Friday, Aug 26: La Porte County
Counseling services
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We offer couples and family counseling to support you as you work toward meeting your goals.
This includes Veteran-centered brief family consultations. These are brief interventions designed to integrate the Veteran’s family and/or chosen supports into their recovery process.
If someone close to you has died or you’re adjusting to a difficult life change, we’re here to support you.
We support Gold Star families. We offer grief and bereavement counseling if your service member died while serving on active duty.
We can help get you connected to the Veterans Benefits Administration and National Cemetery Administration and navigate burial and survivor benefits using the Planning Your Legacy Toolkit.
Download VA’s toolkit for burial benefits and pre-planning information (PDF)
If you’re struggling with issues like PTSD, depression, grief, anger, or trauma, we offer counseling and other support. We’ll work with you to help you achieve your personal goals.
We offer individual and group counseling. We also offer the following evidence-based modalities:
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): This helps you learn to stop avoiding, denying, and struggling with their inner emotions and, instead, accept that these deeper feelings are appropriate responses to certain situations that should not prevent them from moving forward in their lives.
- Prolonged Exposure (PE): This teaches you to gradually approach trauma-related memories, feelings, and situations that you have been avoiding since your trauma. By confronting these challenges, you can actually decrease your PTSD symptoms.
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT): This teaches you how to evaluate and change the upsetting thoughts you have had since your trauma. By changing your thoughts, you can change how you feel.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): This helps people learn how to identify and change the destructive or disturbing thought patterns that have a negative influence on your behavior and emotions.
We also provide referral to VA counseling resources and therapy resources in your community.
If you experienced sexual assault or harassment during military service, we can help you get the counseling you need. Any Veteran or service member, including members of the National Guard and Reserve forces, who experienced military sexual trauma is eligible to receive counseling. This applies to people of all genders from any service era.
We offer individual and group counseling for those who have experienced military sexual trauma. We currently have both male and female counselors that can help. We also offer a weekly group on Thursdays that centers around coping with military sexual trauma.
- Military Sexual Trauma Group is on Thursday mornings.
If interested please contact the Vet Center at
If you have symptoms of PTSD after a traumatic event, we can help. We offer assessment and support through private counseling and group therapy. We can also refer you to VA or community counseling for treatment and therapy resources.
We provide counseling for symptoms of PTSD that include the following evidence-based treatments.
- Prolonged Exposure (PE): This teaches you to gradually approach trauma-related memories, feelings, and situations that you have been avoiding since your trauma. By confronting these challenges, you can actually decrease your PTSD symptoms.
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT): This teaches you how to evaluate and change the upsetting thoughts you have had since your trauma. By changing your thoughts, you can change how you feel.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): This helps people learn how to identify and change the destructive or disturbing thought patterns that have a negative influence on their behavior and emotions.
We currently have a PTSD group that meets every Thursday in Benton Harbor, Michigan. If you are interested, please contact the South Bend Vet Center at
If you’re returning from military service, we’ll help you transition to civilian life. We can connect you with educational and career counseling, mental health services, and other programs and benefits that will support your transition.
We understand that the transition from military to civilian life can be a challenge. We offer a variety of ways to assist you in that process such as:
- How to get VA medical benefits and register for care
- Where to go to file claims and other forms
- Understanding your VA education benefits
- Housing and home loans
- Education and referral for VA burial benefits
We can also connect you to Veterans Service Organizations in your community.
Whole health puts you—instead of your illnesses or conditions—at the center of care. We’ll work with you to develop a personalized health plan based on your values, needs, and goals.
We offer the whole health program that will start you on the road to better health and well-being. Contact us for more information on how to begin.
Referral services
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We can help you overcome substance use problems, from unhealthy alcohol use to life-threatening addiction. We'll connect you to services for your specific needs.
We offer individual counseling to help with addiction and substance use. We’re also able to refer you to our VA Medical Center and one of our local community partners.
Call our Veterans Crisis Line at 988 and press 1 to get support anytime day or night. This service is private, free, and available 24/7. Our Vet Center can also connect you with ongoing counseling and services.
We can help connect you to VA and community resources that will support you in achieving your goals.
We understand that the transition from military to civilian life can be a challenge. We offer a variety of ways to assist you in that process such as:
- How to get VA medical benefits and register for care
- Where to go to file claims and other forms
- Understanding your VA education benefits
- Housing and home loans
- Education and referral for VA burial benefits
We can also connect you to Veterans Service Organizations in your community.
Other services
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We provide private organizations and community agencies education on our Veteran community and military culture. Together, we build referral networks to expand support for Veterans, service members, and their families.
We work with our local partners and use our resources to advocate for your needs to support our Veteran community.
Some of our partners include:
- Veterans Resource Network
- Local first responders
- The National Guard, Reserve, and active duty units
- College and universities in our local community
- County Veteran Service Officers
We offer secure and confidential individual and group counseling through telehealth. You can schedule a phone or video appointment for Vet Center services.
We understand that sometimes it can be difficult to get to your appointment because life may get in the way. We offer access to individual and group sessions via phone or video appointments.
We offer workshops and classes if you want to connect with other Veterans but don't want a group counseling setting.
We understand that everyone may not be ready to jump into counseling sessions. We have our own chapter of Guitars for Vets.
Guitars for Vets shares the healing power of music by providing free guitar instruction, a new acoustic guitar, and a guitar accessory kit in a structured program run by volunteers.
How Vet Centers are different than a medical clinic
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Vet Centers are small, non-medical, counseling centers conveniently located in your community. They’re staffed by highly trained counselors and team members dedicated to seeing you through the challenges that come with managing life during and after the military.
Whether you come in for one-on-one counseling or to participate in a group session, at Vet Centers you can form social connections, try new things, and build a support system with people who understand you and want to help you succeed.
You may be eligible for Vet Center services no matter your discharge status or eligibility for VA health care. And we encourage you to contact us, even if you’re not sure if you’re eligible. If we can’t help you, we’ll find someone who can.
If you’re a Veteran or service member (including National Guard and Reserves), you’re eligible if you meet any of these service requirements:
- You served on active duty in any combat theater or area of hostility, or
- You provided mortuary services or direct emergency medical care to treat the casualties of war while on active duty, or
- You were a member of an unmanned aerial vehicle crew that provided direct support to operations in a combat theater or area of hostility, or
- You served on active duty in response to a national emergency or major disaster declared by the president, or under orders of the governor or chief executive of a state in response to a disaster or civil disorder, or
- You’re a current or former member of the Coast Guard who participated in a drug interdiction operation, or
- You’re a current member of the Reserve Component assigned to a military command in a drill status, including active Reserves, and you need to address a behavioral health condition or psychological trauma that is related to your military service
If you’re a Veteran or service member (including National Guard and Reserves), you’re also eligible for Vet Center services if any of these descriptions is true for you:
- You’re a Vietnam Era Veteran who used Vet Center services before January 2, 2013, or
- You experienced military sexual trauma (no matter your gender or service era), or
- You currently use any covered VA educational assistance benefits
What are the covered educational assistance benefits?
- Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty
- Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve
- Post-9/11 GI Bill
- Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E)
- Veterans’ Educational Assistance Program (VEAP)
Remember: You don’t need to be enrolled in VA health care to be eligible for Vet Center services. You don’t need to have a service-connected disability. And you can have any character of discharge.
You can use our counseling and other support services when your participation would support the growth and goals of the Veteran or service member in your family. If the Veteran or service member considers you family, so do we.
You can also use our bereavement services if any of these descriptions is true for your family:
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The Veteran or service member died while serving on active duty, or
-
The Veteran was using Vet Center services at the time of their death, or
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The Veteran or service member died by suicide
No. You don’t have to be enrolled in VA health care or have a service-connected disability.
Safe and confidential. Our records can’t be accessed by other VA offices, the DoD, military units, or other community networks and providers without your permission or unless required to avert a life-threatening situation. Here, you can be as open as you want—there’s absolutely no judgment.
Call us at
Our confidential call center is staffed by combat Veterans from several eras and family members of Veterans.
You can talk to us about your military experience, issues around transitioning out of military service, or trauma. We’ll help connect you to resources and support at a Vet Center near you.