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Peninsula 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

795 Willow Road
Building 324 Wing B
Menlo Park, CA 94025

Direct line

Hours

  • Mon. 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
  • Tue. 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
  • Wed. 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
  • Thu. 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
  • Fri. 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
  • Sat. Closed
  • Sun. Closed
vet center front entrance bldg 1

Other locations

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

View more Peninsula 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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When you drive on to the USGS campus from Survey Lane, then follow the Vet Center signs to park in the designated Vet Center parking location.

Parking is to the right of the 2nd flag pole in between building 1 and 3.

Follow the Vet Center signs into building 1 to the entrance on the 1st floor.

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 also answer any questions you might have.

The referral process to start counseling services at the Vet Center is simple.

You can call the Vet Center or walk-in during operational hours.

There are several ways to find your way to the Peninsula Vet Center via public transit. 

In the spotlight at Peninsula Vet Center

Counseling services

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

The Vet Center offers couples and family services to those eligible. To include dependents of currently deployed service members.

At the Peninsula Vet Center, we offers groups for couples and families, including:

  1. Partners Group
  2. Parenting thru the Pandemic

We’re here to support you if someone close to you has died or you’re adjusting to a difficult life change.

If you or a loved one are in—or may be in—a potentially abusive or violent relationship, we can help.

If you're a Veteran who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, or a related identity, we can help you find counseling, support, and referral services to meet your specific needs.

The Vet Center is a safe space for all service members and Veterans.

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.

At the Peninsula Vet Center offers a wide range of groups for mental health care.

At Peninsula Vet Center, we offer one-on-one hour-long counseling sessions targeted at your individual needs.

We also offer group counseling for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, Vietnam Veterans, Anger Management, and more.

 

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.

The Peninsula Vet Center offers an African Americans Group.

 

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.

The Peninsula Vet Center offers a wide range of groups for PTSD care:

  1. Taming the Anxious Mind
  2. Vet Skills Group
  3. Spiritual Healing 
  4. Vietnam Vets Recovery group
  5. Combat Medics group
  6. Check in Don't Check Out
  7. Vietnam Vet group

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.

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.

At the Peninsula Vet Center, we offers groups for couples and families for whole health:

  1. Guitar group
  2.  All Level Yoga
  3. Art Group

 

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.

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.

If you’re homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, we can help you connect with resources in your community.

The Vet Center works with the local homeless community resources to assist the Veteran in need. 

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.

The Peninsula Vet we will 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

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

The Vet Center use different forms of Telehealth for counseling services.

We offer workshops and classes if you want to connect with other Veterans but don't want a group counseling setting.

At the Peninsula  Vet Center offers a wide range of workshops for the Veteran community.  

  1. End of Life Series 
  2.  VA Benefits and resources 
  3.  Pain Management 
  4.  Technology Management for video connect on mobile devices 

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.

Vet Center services are available to you at no cost, regardless of discharge character, and without you needing to be enrolled in VA health care or having a service-connected disability. If you’re a Veteran or service member, including members of the National Guard and Reserve, you can access our services if you:

  • Served on active military duty in any combat theater or area of hostility
  • Experienced military sexual trauma (regardless of gender or service era) 
  • Provided mortuary services or direct emergent medical care to treat the casualties of war while serving on active military duty
  • Performed as a member of an unmanned aerial vehicle crew that provided direct support to operations in a combat theater or area of hostility
  • Accessed care at a Vet Center prior to January 2, 2013, as a Vietnam-Era Veteran
  • Served on active military 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 in that state.
  • Are a current or former member of the Coast Guard who participated in a drug interdiction operation, regardless of the location.
  • Are a current member of the Reserve Components assigned to a military command in a drilling status, including active Reserves, who has a behavioral health condition or psychological trauma related to military service that adversely effects quality of life or adjustment to civilian life.

We encourage you to contact us, even if you’re unsure if you meet these criteria. If we can’t help you, we’ll find someone who will.

Our services are also available to family members when their participation would support the growth and goals of the Veteran or active-duty service member. If you consider them family, so do we. We also offer bereavement services to family members of Veterans who were receiving Vet Center services at the time of the Veteran’s death, and to the families of service members who died while serving on active duty.

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.