Moran Announces Kansas Veterans to Have Improved Access to Mental Health Services

Moran Announces Kansas Veterans to Have Improved Access to Mental Health Services

Congressman Jerry Moran has received word from the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Jim Nicholson, that Manhattan will be the site of a new vet center and that additional counseling services will be provided in several First District locations. Vet centers provide counseling and other outreach services to combat veterans. The Manhattan center is scheduled to open in 2008.

"As more veterans seek mental health care following service overseas, this announcement means the critical care they need will be available," Moran said. "The location in Manhattan will be an asset to veterans in the Fort Riley area. I am also pleased to know more counselors will be available in locations throughout the First District to assist veterans who often struggle to access the care they deserve."

Congress established the vet center program in the late 1970s to aid Vietnam veterans experiencing readjustment problems. Currently, the only vet center in Kansas is located in Wichita. At vet centers, counselors and outreach specialists provide services at no cost to combat veterans, their families and the families of soldiers who die on active duty.

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