Veteran Support Groups

The center provides services for veterans who live in the South Bay and South Los Angeles areas. Services include career counseling, disease/disability information, job search/placement, specialized information and referral, veteran reintegration counseling and veteran support groups. This center primarily serves veterans who live in the South Bay area, but there are no geographic restrictions for service.

Career counseling and job search/placement services assist veterans with finding appropriate employment based on skills gained while in service.

Disease/disability counseling addresses the unique issues faced by combat veterans such as exposure to Agent Orange and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Specialized information and referral is for veterans who require services not provided at the Vet Center.

Veteran benefits assistance helps negotiate the VA Benefits and Healthcare systems. Assistance can be provided with obtaining discharge papers such as DD 214's and VA identification cards.

Veteran reintegration counseling is informal and the services focus on assisting veterans to deal with the problems they are experiencing which are related to their military service, and to find ways to resolve these problems so that they do not interfere with the veteran's current life. Counseling services assist the veteran and his or her family, if appropriate, with the service-related symptoms that many veterans experience including memories of war, nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, depression, loneliness, fear, confusion, and post traumatic stress disorder. The focus may also be on family problems and/or other stresses in the veteran's life that aggravate and are intensified by the service-related problems. The counselors are mental health professionals, most of whom are veterans, who can relate on a personal level to the feelings of other veterans and have the skills to help. In the case of combat veterans, the counseling may be provided long-term and with licensed clinicians who specialize in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other service-related mental health issues.

Services for women and men who suffer from Military Sexual Trauma are provided regardless of discharge status and whether the veteran served in combat.

Spouse/domestic partner abuse counseling includes a 52-week court approved program for veterans who have been mandated by the court to attend such counseling. Services are targeted toward the unique needs of the veteran community.

Veteran support groups provide peer-to-peer support services.