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New Haven 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, post traumatic 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.

Locations and contact information

Main Location

291 South Lambert Road
Orange, CT 06477

Direct line

Hours

  • Mon. 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
  • Tue. 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
  • Wed. 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 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
RCS (Readjustment Counseling Services)

Other locations

Vet Centers are community based to be more accessible in areas where you live.

View more New Haven Vet Center locations

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? Give us a call and let's discuss how we can help. Call  to schedule an appointment with one of our counselors.
  • After your initial contact with the Vet Center, the Vet Center Director will be notified to call you to schedule an appointment. You can expect a return call within 1-2 business days, and we should be able to schedule your first appointment within 2-10 business days, depending on schedule availabilities. If in crisis please let us know and we will address your needs immediately.
  • You can call us anytime during our posted hours of operation. If you need to call outside of those times, on weekends, or holidays, the Vet Center Call Center is available 24/7 at 877-927-8737

Cost: Free

  • We have a large well-lit parking area with accessible parking and handicap access . In addition, motorcycle parking and Purple Heart parking is offered at the facility. Please feel free to park in any open available space.
  • If there are any issues, please call us at and we can come out and assist you.

Transportation is available thru Valley Transit District. Please call to schedule a trip first

The Greater New Haven Transit District also is available. Please call to receive the latest schedule.  

You do not 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 will look for one or more of the following:

  • Discharge documents (such as a DD214)
  • Receipt of certain awards
  • Deployment orders
  • Other documents that show qualifying military service

Request your military service records online.

If you don’t have these documents on-hand, come in and we can work with you to establish your eligibility and answer any questions you might have.

In the spotlight at New Haven Vet Center

Counseling services

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We offer couples and family counseling to support you as you work toward meeting your goals.

Specialty care includes

  • Couples counseling and support
  • Spouse and Significant Other groups

If someone close to you has died or you’re adjusting to a difficult life change, we’re here to support you.

New Haven Vet Center offers bereavement counseling in an individual or group setting by a trained bereavement counselor.

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.

New Haven Vet Center offers individual and group counseling.

Specialty care includes

  • Era-specific Groups (Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq)
  • Service branch groups
  • Cultural groups

Evidence-based therapies such as

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
  • Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Prolonged exposure therapy (PE)
  • Motivational interviewing (MI)

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.

If you’re a Veteran from a minority community, we can help you find counseling, support, and referral services to meet your specific needs.

Vet Centers also offer referrals for bilingual services.

New Haven Vet Center Specialty care includes:

  • Cultural groups
  • Bilingual services 

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.

New Haven Vet Center offers individual and group counseling.

Specialty care includes;

  • Evidence based therapies such as; Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Seeking Safety for PTSD and substance abuse disorder dual diagnosis

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.

If you’re a woman Veteran transitioning to civilian life, we can help you find counseling, support, and referral services to meet your specific needs.

New Haven Vet Center offers individual and group counseling with counselors identified as VA Women’s Mental Health Champions.

Call or text the Women's Veteran call center at 1- for more information.

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.

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.

New Haven Vet Center may help you know where to go and how to register for;

  • VA medical benefits and register for care
  • Filing a military-related disability claim and other forms
  • Understanding your VA education benefits
  • Housing and home loans
  • Education and referral for VA burial benefits
  • We may also connect you with State benefits assistance and local Veteran Service Organizations.

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 offer secure and confidential individual and group counseling through telehealth. You can schedule a phone or video appointment for Vet Center services.

We’ll help you achieve your job and career goals. We can connect you with one-on-one support, counseling, and training.

Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) (Formerly known as Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment) services help with job training, employment accommodations, resume development, and job seeking skills coaching. 

New Haven Vet Center has a VR&E specialist onsite on scheduled days and may be reached by appointment only. Please call us to schedule an appointment. We’ll help you achieve your job and career goals. We can connect you with one-on-one support, counseling, and training.

How we’re different than a 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?

They're benefits from any of these programs

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: 

  • 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

  • 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.