Trenton Vet Center to open Community Access Point on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
The Trenton Vet Center is one of four Vet Centers in the VANJHCS service area and five such facilities serving New Jersey Veterans, service members, and their families.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is partnering with the Department of Defense to open a Vet Center Community Access Point on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JB MDL), providing confidential counseling for eligible Veterans and service members, including members of the National Guard and Reserves and their families. This new office is a satellite of the Trenton Vet Center and will provide onsite services in a therapeutic and friendly environment to active duty and Veterans who work or reside near the base.
VA operates 300 Vet Centers across the U.S., in every state and territory, providing confidential counseling, community engagement, and referral services to other VA or community resources. Individual, group, couples, and family counseling is offered to make a successful transition from military to civilian life or after a traumatic event experienced in the military. Families may also use Vet Centers to help cope with the deployment of a loved one. These services extend beyond the 300 locations, through more than 80 Mobile Vet Centers, over 20 Vet Center outstations, and nearly 1,000 Community Access Points. Community partners make access points possible, by providing donated space on a routine basis for Vet Center counselors and outreach staff to deliver a wide range of services and reduce the time or distance to care.
Trenton Vet Center Director, Mildred Nti, Ph.D., and her team worked closely with Base Command at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst to expedite this partnership and bring Vet Center services directly to those seeking them on base.
“This is an exciting opportunity for our team to deliver the important mental health services our
eligible veterans and service members earned in an inviting, convenient, and accessible location in their community,” said Dr. Nti. “We’ve received such a warm welcome from JB MDL Base Commander, Col Bert W. Adams, Violence Prevention Integrator and Suicide Prevention Program Manager, Janis Doss, and Community Support Coordinator, Crista Brady-Szabo are eager to get started.”
JB MDL’s Janis Doss added, “Our civilian employees are Veterans too, so the ability for this community to have Vet Center services and support available for our military members and families will help ease their transition from military to civilian life.”
The Vet Center will offer services by appointment only at 5418 South Scott Plaza, McDonald Hall, Suite 131, Fort Dix, NJ 08640 beginning Wednesday, July 20, 2022, and will be open every Wednesday thereafter from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Those looking to schedule an appointment can call the Trenton Vet Center at 609-882-5744.
Vet Centers are a part of VA's Readjustment Counseling Service and their eligibility criteria is different from VA Healthcare eligibility criteria. They are separate from VA Healthcare facilities and VA Clinics. Use this link to learn more about how VA's Vet Centers help Veterans, service members, and their families.