A new Vet Center for the northwestern part of the state could move closer to reality under Senator Steven Oroho’s resolution, endorsed during today’s Senate session.

Senator Steven Oroho’s resolution which could bring a new Vet Center to the northwestern part of the state was endorsed by the Senate. (Flickr)

“A new state-of-the-art complex in this area would be embraced by the almost 50,000 veterans living in Sussex, Morris, Hunterdon and Warren counties,” said Oroho (R-24). “It would ensure easier, quicker access to care, counseling, and other assistance for the men and women who earned it.”

Under the bipartisan concurrent resolution (ACR-22/SCR-25), the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington would be urged to designate a new center in the region to fill the current void. It would be the state’s sixth Vet Center.

“Vet Centers have exemplary reputations for their commitment to supporting all veterans and their families,” said Oroho (R-24). “The vets in this part of the state deserve that convenient access to the myriad of services they have earned. During the pandemic, the need for a new center became obvious, and this resolution will encourage the Federal government to step up and ensure our veterans have the help they need.”

The VA’s Vet Center program was established in 1979. Centers offer community-based counseling and wide range of social and psychological services. Available benefits at Vet Centers include professional readjustment counseling to veterans and families, military sexual trauma counseling, and bereavement counseling for families who experience an active-duty death.

“The current distribution of VA centers cannot accommodate the needs of the expansive veterans’ population across New Jersey. There is no question a new vet center is desperately needed in the northwest part of the state,” said Oroho.

Assemblyman Hal Wirths and Assemblyman Parker Space sponsor the identical Assembly resolution, ACR-22, which passed the Assembly on Oct. 3.