A resolution sponsored by Senator Steven Oroho and advanced today by the Senate Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee aims for the establishment of a new Vet Center for the northwestern portion of the state to provide easier access to care, counseling, and other assistance. Almost 50,000 veterans reside in Sussex, Morris, Hunterdon, and Warren counties.

A resolution sponsored by Sen. Steven Oroho and advanced by the Senate Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee aims for the establishment of a new Vet Center for the northwestern portion of the state to provide easier access to care, counseling, and other assistance. (Flickr)

The bipartisan resolution (SCR-25) urges the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington to designate a new center in the region to fill the void. It would be the state’s sixth Vet Center.

“Vet Centers have earned sterling 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. The need for a new center was accentuated during the pandemic, and this resolution will encourage the Federal government to step up and ensure our veterans have access to 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.

“We have a significant veterans’ population across New Jersey, and the current distribution of VA centers simply cannot meet the demand. There is no question a new vet center is desperately needed in this part of the state,” said Oroho.