The Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital Outreach Team and the Vet Center along with the Grundy County Veterans Assistance Commission will be enrolling Veterans and answering questions about VA health care and other veterans' benefits in Channahon on Wednesday.  Village Hall 24555 S. Navajo Drive, Channahon.

Vet Centers are community-based counseling centers that provide a wide range of social and psychological services, including professional readjustment counseling to eligible Veterans, active duty service members, including National Guard and Reserve components, and their families. Readjustment counseling is offered to make a successful transition from military to civilian life or after a traumatic event experienced in the military. Individual, group, marriage and family counseling is offered in addition to referral and connection to other VA or community benefits and services. Vet Center counselors and outreach staff, many of whom are Veterans themselves, are experienced and prepared to discuss the tragedies of war, loss, grief and transition after trauma.

The Hines VAMC Outreach Team consists of the team coordinator and a nurse. The Grundy County VAC will have a veteran service officer in attendance to assist with a variety of federal, state and local veterans benefits.

You may be eligible for VA health care benefits if you served in the active military, naval, or air service and didn’t receive a dishonorable discharge. If you enlisted after September 7, 1980, or entered active duty after October 16, 1981, you must have served 24 continuous months or the full period for which you were called to active duty. Please bring a copy of your DD214 and a Photo ID.  There are other criteria that may also make you eligible for VA health care. If you do not have a copy of your DD 214, the Grundy County VAC can assist you with getting one.

At Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, our health care teams are deeply experienced and guided by the needs of Veterans, their families, and caregivers. Located 12 miles west of downtown Chicago and at six outpatient clinics across the region, Hines VA offers primary, extended and specialty care to Veteran patients in the Chicago area. We are the largest VA in the state of Illinois, where more than a million Veterans reside. The hospital treats more than 44,000 veterans from World War II through the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The Grundy County VAC strives each day to assist veterans with a variety of benefits that are available to them from federal, state and local sources. The outreach events in Grundy County help provide additional opportunities for veterans to learn about their benefits.” said Buck.

If you would like more information about the Hines VA outreach program, please call Patrick Grimes at 708-904-2293.

For questions regarding other veterans benefits please contact the Grundy VAC at vac@grundyco.org or 815-941-3152.