VA mobile outreach making Vancouver stop

A mobile outreach team from the Tacoma Vet Center will visit Vancouver on July 16 to increase combat veterans’ access to counseling and other benefits.

The stop will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Hazel Dell Wal-Mart parking lot, 9000 N.E. Highway 99.

The team from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Tacoma Vet Center works in a hard-to-miss 38-foot-long recreational vehicle decorated with VA imagery.

There will be several resource areas, outreach specialist Jason Scott said. There will be counseling services for combat veterans and for veterans dealing with military sexual trauma. There also will be opportunities for veterans and their family members to learn about other VA programs and benefits.

“Most of the time, people see ‘VA’ (on the vehicle) and have general VA questions,” Scott said.

There is a similar center in Portland, but the mobile outreach campaigns are organized on a county-by-county basis within states.

Vets can make appointments by calling 253-565-7038. They’re also welcome to walk in for services.

Information on services is at www.vetcenter.va.gov.

The Southwest Washington schedule includes stops from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 15, Skamania County Fairgrounds, 650 Rock Creek Drive, Stevenson; and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 19, Lowe’s, 2850 Ocean Beach Highway, Longview.