Starting next month, veterans, service members and their families can seek counseling services in Morris Township from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the VA’s Under Secretary for Health, speaks in Morris Township, April 23, 2023. Photo by Bill Lescohier

A “Vet Center Community Access Point” will operate at the Morris County Veterans Service Office at the Hanover Avenue Morris View complex, as a satellite to a new veterans “Outstation” coming soon to Hackettstown.

“This is on us, to make sure we are reaching out to the veterans who need these services, and getting them in the door here,” Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th Dist.), a Navy veteran, told a gathering of veterans and dignitaries on Tuesday.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a Navy veteran, speaks at VA announcement in Morris Township. Video by Bill Lescohier for MorristownGreen.com:

Counselors will be at the Morris County facility at least one day per week, for starters, said Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the VA’s Under Secretary for Health and former New Jersey health commissioner and CEO of University Hospital in Newark.

Vet Centers are intended to provide eligible recipients with free professional counseling for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and the psychological effects of military sexual trauma. The community-based centers also can connect veterans with VA health care and benefits.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill and Morris Township Mayor Donna Guariglia at Morris County Veterans Office, April 23, 2023. Photo by Bill Lescohier

“This is life-saving work that helps veterans in their most difficult times,” Elnahal said.

More than 115,000 veterans, service members, and their families received counseling at more than 300 Vet Centers nationwide in fiscal 2023, according to the VA. Many counselors and staff are veterans “prepared to discuss the tragedies of war, loss, grief, and transition after trauma,” the VA said in a statement.

“They ask a simple question: What do you want to do next? What will help you thrive?” Elnahal elaborated.

“And then everything else falls into place, and they get healthcare, and the rest of the local resources that a veteran can benefit from, and move them to the next step.”

Dr. Shereef Elnahal of the VA in Morris Township. Video by Bill Lescohier for MorristownGreen.com:

State Sen. Anthony M. Bucco (R-25th Dist.) and Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th Dist.) at VA announcement in Morris Township, April 23, 2023. Photo by Bill Lescohier

Dignitaries on hand Tuesday included state Sen. Anthony M. Bucco and Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (both R-25th Dist.), County College of Morris President Anthony Iacono, Morris Township Mayor Donna Guariglia, and Michael Fisher and Dr. Joan McInerney from the VA.

Morris County Commissioners Director John Krickus, a Marine veteran, said the commissioners approved doubling the size of the county veterans office two years ago, and appropriated about $300,000 for a variety of veterans services last year.

“In Morris County we not only say ‘thank you for your service’ in words, we say them in actions,” Krickus said.

Officials at VA announcement in Morris Township, April 23, 2023. Photo by Bill Lescohier

The VA recently approved an Outstation for Vineland. Other New Jersey Vet Centers are in Bloomfield, Secaucus, Egg Harbor Township, Lakewood and Ewing. For an appointment in Morris Township, veterans should call the Bloomfield Vet Center at 973-748-0980.

Sherrill urged officials, staff, and especially, veterans, to make this a welcoming environment and to reach out to vets in need. Having resources so close could be a godsend, she said.

“If you’re saying, ‘come with me right around the corner,’ that can be the difference between getting the services our veterans need, and not,” she said.

The program will expand to meet demand, Sherrill said.

“We will never stop advocating for our veterans here in New Jersey,” she said.

Morristown Green correspondent Bill Lescohier contributed to this report.

Michael Fisher of the VA speaks in Morris Township, April 23, 2023. Photo by Bill Lescohier Dr. Joan E. McInerney of the VA at new Morris County satellite counseling center, April 23, 2023. Photo by Bill Lescohier Xiomara Johnson and Meghan Badame of the VA, April 23, 2023. Photo by Bill Lescohier