MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Lawmakers and veterans gathered Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the grand opening of the Alabama Veterans Resource Center.
Located at 102 Dexter Ave. in downtown Montgomery, the center is a “one stop shop” for veterans and their families, including career counseling and job placement, assistance with state and federal benefits, guidance for disability claims and programs to support mental health and wellness.
Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Jeff Newton said that many veterans and their caretakers don’t know all of the benefits available to them and that the center can help them figure that out.
“They come here, they will find the answers they need to get the services they need for their veterans’ well being…” Newton said. “We served about 14 already this morning, waiting to get in the door, so we’re very, very proud of this veteran center, and we look forward to the big future ahead for our veterans.”
The center’s doors, situated at the corner of Dexter Avenue and Perry Street, officially opened Tuesday morning, and without any advertisement about the center, around 20 veterans have already come in for help, Newton said.
The Legislature approved the AVRC last year through Senate Bill 70, which was sponsored by Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre. The center is funded through a public-private partnership.
The opening included a ceremonial ribbon cutting as well as remarks from Gov. Kay Ivey, Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter, Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger, AVRC Executive Director Alexandria Karagas, Alabama Power Chief Executive Officer Jeff Peoples and Alabama Department of Workforce Secretary Greg Reed.
The speakers thanked veterans for their service and emphasized how this center will help Alabama give back to veterans and their families.
“This center represents a debt being paid and a promise being kept to the men and women who wore the uniform in defense of the greatest nation mankind has ever known, rather than forcing our veterans to navigate an endless maze full of dead ends and frustrations in order to receive the benefits, the assistance and the care that they earned during their military service,” Gudger said.
Lawmakers are already talking about expansion, with Montgomery at the center of a “spoke-and-hub” model, to serve the 400,000 veterans living across the state of Alabama.