Beyond making services available to veterans, the Lancaster Vet Center (LVC) has a desire to make sure those benefits are being used. LVC wants to serve veterans in much the same way that veterans served others.

"Some veterans will say, 'Why me? Why do I deserve this?''' said Phil Grant, who's been LVC's director since February of 2022. "The reason is because your service qualified you for these services. There's no fee. There's no cost. The eligibility doesn't expire. They earned it through their time in the military."

"Our motto is 'Connection, Camaraderie, Community,'" continued Grant. "We want to live up to that. When you come here, you'll be able to connect with your vet community and build that camaraderie. That's what we're striving for."

Located at 1817 Olde Homestead Lane, Lancaster, the LVC serves United States military veterans through one-on-one counseling, group therapy, veteran events and outreach programs. A branch of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and affiliated with the Lebanon Veterans Affairs Hospital, LVC also works with other outside organizations to resolve any difficulty a veteran might encounter.

"We are here to help veterans and their families readjust to life after their experience in the military," said Grant. "It's a lot of moving pieces. We want to help the community know who we are and what we do. We work with veterans for very specific treatment plans. We maintain relationships in the community to get them a higher echelon of care if that's necessary."

LVC serves between 80 and 100 veterans from Lancaster, Lebanon and Berks counties each month. According to a 2021 census, those counties are home to a total of 26,351 veterans.

"We have vets who have been in combat," said Grant. "We have some vets who are out of active duty and just want to connect with the community. Some have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Some are just trying to successfully transition from the military and move on. It's a wide swatch."

"Once veterans know we exist, some will determine it's not something they really need, and they'll spread the word," added Grant. "These benefits exist because people use them. If they weren't used the funding would disappear. No one is taking a service away from someone else. Some vets don't need the services. Some are good right now and can come back if they need to."

One of 12 veterans' centers in the state, LVC was established in 2010. As a whole, the veterans' center program was established in 1979 and now operates 300 branches nationwide.

"We want to give veterans a place where they can come so they can live their best lives, not just for themselves but also for their families," Grant said. "It's not just for them; it's also for everyone in their circle. For the veteran community in general, it's sometimes hard to come to the table and trust that systems are going to do what they say they are going to do. Where we could do a better job is pounding the streets, getting the word out and showing the veteran community they can trust us."

For additional information about the Lancaster Vet Center, go to http://www.va.gov/lancaster-vet-center.