St. Cloud Chosen for New Veterans Center Outstation

(KNSI) – St. Cloud has been selected as a site for one of six new Vet Center Outstations in the country to improve access to mental health care.

Counseling is provided at no cost to active service members, veterans, and their families. The community-based counseling centers provide a wide range of social and psychological services such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and dealing with the effects of military sexual trauma.

Local U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer issued a statement after the announcement saying, “The Sixth District’s more than thirty thousand veterans deserve quick access to mental health care when they need it, not weeks or months down the line. The new St. Cloud outstation is a worthy investment in the wellbeing of Minnesota veterans and will provide much-needed mental health resources to the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our nation.”

Many staff members are vets themselves who are experienced and prepared to talk about the tragedies of war, loss, grief, and the transition after trauma. The goal is to get ahead of major mental health issues by cutting through barriers to care. The St. Cloud outstation will be at 330 Highway 10, Suit 101. It’s expected to start treating people in the early part of 2024.

The Department of Veterans Affairs made the announcement on Friday. St. Cloud was the only city in Minnesota to get a location. The other facilities were being built in Arizona, California, New Jersey, Tennessee, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Mariana Islands.

In fiscal year 2023, more than 115,000 veterans, service members, and their families received counseling at the VA’s 300 centers nationwide.

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