Rockford 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.
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.
View more Rockford Vet Center locationsWe 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
Click on a topic for more details.
First-time visitor? Stop in during our regular office hours or call us to learn more about services.
We require masks inside the building. Many services are available on a walk-in basis and through telehealth.
Services are also available by appointment at our Community Access Points in Dekalb, Illinois, and Freeport, Illinois.
Call 815-395-1279 to schedule an appointment.
You don’t need to be registered for VA health care or have a VA service-connected disability to participate in Vet Center services. On your first visit, we’ll look for one or more of the following:
- Discharge documents (such as a DD214)
- 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.
Our Vet Center is conveniently served by Rockford Mass Transit (RMT).
Plan for an hour for a one-way trip from downtown.
We have a large well-lit parking area. You can park in any available space.
We’re located across the street from Meijer.
In the spotlight at Rockford Vet Center
Find connection, find camaraderie, find community
Learn more about the confidential and comfortable environment you’ll find at your local Vet Center.
Happy holidays!
We invited Veterans, their families, and community partners into the center to share individual treats and meet each other on December 9. Thank you to all who visited! Stay tuned for future events.
Rockford Vet Center groups
Our weekly groups include the following:
- Guitars for Veterans
- Conflict group
- Combat support group
- Post-9/11 support group
- PTSD support group
- Drop-in art group
Please call for more information about our groups.
Counseling services
Click on a service for more details.
We offer couples and family counseling to support you as you work toward meeting your goals.
We offer the following evidence-based treatments:
- Emotionally Focused Therapy. This helps individuals and couples deal with problematic emotional states and interpersonal relationships.
- Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy. This approach uses a variety of strategies to promote greater emotional acceptance as well as concrete change.
We’re here to support you if someone close to you has died or you’re adjusting to a difficult life change.
We offer counseling and other support, such as the following:
- Bereavement counseling for family members of service members who died while serving on active duty or to family members of Veterans who were receiving services at the time of their death.
- Grief counseling
- Contact information to the Veterans Benefits Administration and National Cemetery regarding possible burial and survival benefits
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 provide referral services to appropriate resources in our community.
Our services include the following:
- One-on-one hour-long counseling sessions targeted at your individual goals
- Group counseling for post-9/11 Veterans and Vietnam Veterans; see our spotlight about additional groups
We use evidence-based therapies such as these:
- Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
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.
Our counselors use a trauma-informed care approach to provide therapy and supportive services to those who have experienced MST.
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 offer individual and group counseling. See our spotlight about our groups.
Evidence-based therapies are available, such as these:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
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.
Our personnel are knowledgeable on a wide range of federal and state benefits for Veterans and their families, including guidance regarding VA compensation and pension claims, retirement benefits, and survivor benefits.
Referral services
Click on a service for more details.
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 work closely with and refer to VA and community providers for addiction support, including these:
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.
Our primary focus is your safety. If you feel hopeless, suicidal, or in need of crisis care, let your counselor know. We can work together to help you feel safer and more optimistic about your future. Should you need the Veterans Crisis Line, in addition to calling them, you can also reach them via confidential chat by texting 838255.
Together we’ll work to help you stay safe and improve your world.
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
- How to learn more about VA education benefits
- How to get housing and home loans
- How to learn more about VA burial benefits
We can connect you to Veterans Service Organizations in your community.
Other services
Click on a service for more details.
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.
Our team works with local providers to collaborate and support Veterans and service members in our community.
Some of our partnerships include the following:
- YMCA
- Veterans Drop-In Center
- National Guard, Reserve, and active-duty units
How we’re different than a clinic
Click on a topic for more details.
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.
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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.