Finstad introduces bill for veterans center in Mankato

Mankato Free Press | By Holly Marie Moore

MANKATO — Congressman Brad Finstad introduced legislation Friday that would authorize funding through the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a vet center in Mankato.

The center would provide community-based counseling services to eligible veterans, service members and their families, according to a news release from the 1st District representative, who is a Republican from New Ulm.

The Minnesota Association of County Veteran Service Officers and the Disabled American Veterans Department of Minnesota are among those to endorse the legislation, the release said.

Blue Earth County Veteran Service Officer Michael McLaughlin supports the effort and said there’s a demand for veteran mental health services in Mankato and the region.

That demand is in part seen through an already existing partnership between Blue Earth County and the St. Paul Vet Center to provide mental health services on a weekly basis in the Blue Earth County Government Center.

Those services have been booked when they’re available.

“When we’re looking at trying to get it down to Mankato, it made sense because there’s a need,” he said.

In addition to a large veteran and active military member presence in Mankato, McLaughlin also noted the younger veteran population the area has due to the universities in the region.

“You get quite the number of people transitioning out of the military or who are still currently serving in the area that need help with a lot of that adjustment,” he said.

While private practices have in part tried to meet the demand in the area, McLaughlin said there’s often issues with insurance covering the services.

Due to how vet centers are categorized, more people would be able to afford it.

McLaughlin said in a news release the vet center could provide individual or group therapy that could in-part help curb veteran suicide.

He told The Free Press that readjustment counseling also provides benefits to those who would utilize the center.

“The big part with the readjustment, people think just coming home that first couple of months after employment, but really a lot of that adjustment doesn’t really tend to creep up until you’re two, three, four years later when things kind of settle down and you’re just trying to adjust back to normal life,” he said.

Finstad commented on the proposed legislation in the news release. “As I talk with veterans across southern Minnesota, the resounding message I hear from them is the need for local, accessible VA resources,” he said.

“Many of the men and women who serve our country face challenges while adjusting from active duty to civilian life; yet, many do not seek the counseling they need because they live far from a VA facility.”