BVA Emerald Coast Regional Group President Darryl Goldsmith represented the Association at an official ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 30 at the recently completed Pensacola, Florida, Vet Center. Unlike VA Medical Centers and Community-Based Outpatient Clinics that focus on physical health issues, Vet Centers offer mental health-centric services.
Darryl was joined at the March 30 ceremony by Florida State Representative Michelle Salzman, Vet Center Director Douglas (Rush) McQueen, Ph.D., the Center’s Veterans Outreach Program Specialist (VOPS) Alberto Velez II (U.S. Army, Ret), in addition to staff from the local VA clinic, the VA National Cemetery Administration, the Honor HER Foundation of Northwest Florida, and veterans who served in Korea, Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Despite the recentness of the ribbon cutting, the new Pensacola Vet Center began operating last August (2023). It is one of more than 300 Vet Centers nationwide and also has up to 300 active clients in counseling at a given time. Hundreds more are served each year with outreach and referral services, which are the core elements of the Center’s mission. The Center’s leadership also generously provides the space for the Emerald Coast Regional Group to hold its regular meetings.
Every Tuesday, Darryl participates in the Guitars 4 Vets initiative at the Center. In this program, which partners with Vet Centers, veterans with PTSD-related symptoms learn to play the guitar to help recover, grow, and thrive. Darryl first signed up for Guitars 4 Vets when it was introduced at the BVA 74th National Convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2019. Slow to get off the ground because of the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of veterans nationwide are now participating with new guitars that are provided.
Vet Centers were created in 1979 after it was determined that Vietnam Veterans had sustained readjustment difficulties after coming home from war. Since the first Vet Centers started up around the country, they have been offering individual, group and family therapy, military sexual trauma (MST), employment assessment, and drug and alcohol treatment. If a veteran or a family member has been deployed to a combat zone, they are eligible for Vet Center services.
