“Making sure those who are serving and those who have served get the benefits they have earned, there is nothing more important.” Wasilla Vet Center opens new location

Alaska is known far and wide as the state with the most military veterans per capita, and that is even more so in the Mat-Su Valley. As the numbers have increased, so too has the need for the Wasilla Vet Center and the services they provided. It was with that idea that the Wasilla Vet Center officially opened its doors to a new location on Wednesday.

“Veterans, service members, and their families understand more than anyone the special responsibility demanded by military service, and it demands a lot,” said Wasilla Vet Center Director, Dr. Cheryl Lundy, during opening remarks at Wednesday’s ceremony and open house.

Lundy said the center had been looking for a new space for a while so they could expand the programs and services.

“We are so happy to be moved into this new space. We’ve been a part of the Wasilla community since the 1980s,” she said, “and now that we have this new space, we’re really looking forward to being able to serve the Valley with greater capacity.”

The new facility is nearly double the space it had in its previous location, to 6000 square feet, which will allow for more activities and therapies for veterans, active duty, and their families, with rooms for family therapy, group, and multiple counseling rooms for counseling services.

Among the services the Vet Center provides is readjustment counseling, 1-on-1 therapy for vets and service members and their families, as well as non-traditional therapies.

“We have the new big group rooms so we will be able to do recreational and social groups. We do fly-tying, gaming groups, yoga, women’s fitness activities, and we’re looking to add a lot more.”

The Wasilla Vet Center also has the distinction of being the only VA entity that is able to care for veterans and active duty service members who meet eligibility criteria.

“When our veterans and service members return to Alaska, we owe it to them, and their families, to provide a soft place to land, and help them to create a new sense of hope and belonging. That place must feel safe, patient, confidential, and judgement-free. Often, that place is a Vet Center,” she said before welcoming everyone to their new space.

Additionally, the Vet Center maintains the privacy and confidentiality of the clients by keeping their information private and not added to their permanent records, something that can be a barrier in receiving care. Records are not shared with the VA or Department of Defense without written consent by the service member.

Nor does the Vet Center do any diagnosing, but rather work to reduce barriers so more people will feel comfortable to come in and receive services.

“I’ve used these people, and I will admit that freely. I’ve needed them and they were the team that helped keep me going, so it’s a real honor to stand here and invoke here, and say ‘yes, these are blessed people.’ It’s a proud thing to be here,” said Pastor Rick Cavens, a retired USAF Chaplain, before leading the audience and attendees in a brief prayer in which he reminded everyone present of the understanding that for those who served, they were not alone.

“When I was transitioning from the military, it was easier to be in combat than it was to transition (to civilian life). Without the assistance of Vet Centers, I don’t think we would have the transitions that we do today,” said Verdie Brown, the Director of Military and Veteran Affairs for the state of Alaska.

Senator Lisa Murkowski spoke about the continuing need to uphold promises made to veterans.

“It’s something that we all need to look to do,” the Senator said. She also talked about the progress being made over the last several years in veterans’ policies and funding for veterans’ initiatives, specifically pointing to the PACT Act, and an extension of that legislation called “Honoring Our PACT Act.” And the COMPACT Act, which would ensure that any veteran struggling with mental health or suicide would be able to get care at any facility, whether it be the VA or otherwise.

“We all know that there’s so much more that needs to be done.”

Senator Dan Sullivan, who also serves in the USMC Reserves as a Colonel, and just completed the required semi-annual Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test the day before, spoke about the priority and need for the more centers to address the needs of veterans everywhere.

“In Alaska, the (veteran) population is growing, it is expanding and what we need are more facilities like this. The good news is that in the past 3 or 4 years, every major community in Alaska-Fairbanks, Kenai, Homer, Anchorage, the Valley, Juneau-has had either an expansion of an existing VA facility or a brand new, big VA facility for our Alaska veterans. That is progress.”

Senator Sullivan also talked about a recent tour with the VA here in Alaska, and specifically a recent decision made to outsource VA call centers to outside Alaska, which can be frustrating to veterans needing to make appointments or access VA care and speaking to someone in the lower 48 who may not have an understanding of how big Alaska is and how difficult it can be to travel around the state. Senator Sullivan was proud to announce that action is being taken to correct that.

“Last week, we had a hearing in the VA committee, and spoke to a top official in the charge, telling him we need the call centers back here. We need our VA doing call centers for our Alaska veterans back in the state. This VA official said ‘we will work with you; you have my commitment to get the call centers back in Alaska.” Senator Sullivan told attendees that he intends to hold “their feet to the fire” to ensure this takes place.

Senator Sullivan said that the new Vet Center will also be critical in de-stigmatizing the issue of mental health within the veteran community, an issue that has been receiving much-needed attention since the early 2000’s.

“In the military, if you talked about your mental health, if you had a problem, nobody did that. The culture was ‘suck it up, suffer, never talk about it.’ That has to change, and the good news is that it is starting to change,” he said, adding, “We need to de-stigmatize this issue of people who are having mental health challenges, or PTSD. We need to welcome them, we need to address it. This center is going to do that, and it is a beautiful thing.”

“Every Vet center is grounded in connection, camaraderie, and community,” said Keynote Speaker Michael Fischer, the Chief Officer Readjustment Counseling Service.

“We also collectively work to find and remove barriers and build relationships for those that are more difficult to reach out to, and can benefit from Vet Center services.”

“Clients will always find a mutual understanding and respect here,” said Fischer, who later told the audience of the impact that a Vet Center had on him. “In my time, all I wanted to do was say ‘no,’ but helped me, forced me, to say ‘yes,’ and it was the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And that is what we do-we help people ‘yes’ when all they want to do is say ‘no.’’

Lundy says that the Vet Center hopes to meet the mission of being a place where veterans will feel connected and social.

“It’s really hard when someone leaves active duty to connect with others, and we want to be that place where they can meet each other and have that camaraderie, and keep them connected. That’s part of the healing process.”

“Making sure those who are serving and those who have served get the benefits they have earned, there is nothing more important.”