“We want our veterans that need our services to know that we’re here so that we can help them with readjustment, with trauma, with PTSD. You know, there’s so many out there that are trying to be OK on their own, and they’re struggling and think that maybe they’re the only one, but they’re not,” Moser said.

“Pennsylvania had the largest national guard to be deployed out of the nation. They were the number state that had the most veterans that were Army National Guard that were deployed so we have a lot of veterans that have deployed, that have suffered some very traumatic experiences and that still don’t know that we’re here. So it’s like, we are here for you,” she said

To highlight what the center offers, they recently held an open house.

The Center, at 49 E. Fourth St., is staffed by licensed therapists and offers the opportunity for veterans to participate in various groups to help them readjust to civilian life.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Mike Dunlap, left and Steve Dicandilo share stories during an open house at the Williamsport Vet Center in Williamsport on Thursday. The event was held to raise community awareness of the services offered by the Vet Center who's goal is to provide connection, camaraderie and community according to their flyer.

“We offer many different types of groups and we do many different kinds of events that are according to the needs of our veteran population,” Moser said.

In addition to offering events, such as a collaboration with Ricketts Glen State Park to provide a free weekend for veterans, the Vet Center has groups like guitar and art available.

“The groups depend on the needs of our veterans,” Moser said.

“When we saw that somebody was interested in guitar, it was like, oh, okay, there’s a perfect opportunity — let’s start a guitar group. The idea is that the more veterans that you can get together, the better and the more healing and therapeutic it is, because, our veterans particularly, the majority of them are combat veterans. They understand each other. There is an understanding and a very deep camaraderie that’s between them and it can be very healing just to be together. So we try to really support a lot of various activities,” she said.

The Vet Center serves an 11-county area going as far north as Bradford and Sullivan counties and down to Northumberland and Snyder counties. Therapists serve designated counties and part of their work entails traveling to the counties on a regular basis.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Larry Clark and June Moser, Williamsport Vet Center, director, set out food prior to an open house at the Williamsport Vet Center in Williamsport on Thursday. The event was held to raise community awareness of the services offered by the Vet Center who's goal is to provide connection, camaraderie and community according to their flyer.

“They go once a week so that the veteran doesn’t always have to come here,” Moser said. “They can go to what we call a CAP, which is a community access point. They’ll meet there. It could be a VFW, an American Legion, a library, a park, whatever it is. So we do have that flexibility that we can go where the veteran is,” she said.

The interest groups, however, are run at the local Vet Center offices, although if there was an interest in some other location, the center would offer a group there.

“They’re primarily based here because that’s where the population that’s interested is. But if we were to find that in Northumberland County that we had several there — not several even if it’s two or three — that would be interested, but can’t travel here to Williamsport, then we would start a group down there. We would attempt to do that,” she said.

The veterans that come to the Vet Center range in age from those who have fought in the Korean War, Vietnam down to more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Wherever they have gone to support our country and its mission. We can see those veterans,” Moser said.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Vietnam veteran Joe Grafius heads to a table with a plate of food during an open house at the Williamsport Vet Center in Williamsport on Thursday. The event was held to raise community awareness of the services offered by the Vet Center who's goal is to provide connection, camaraderie and community according to their flyer.

They may have seen action in different wars, but the veterans can all share difficulties in rejoining civilian life.

“A really big thing is readjustment because the military has its own culture. It’s an amazing culture. Once you’ve been in the military, it’s in your blood. And so when you get out of the military, and you come back home, it can be very difficult for that transition. That’s why we are called readjustment counseling, because we’re really trying to help with that readjustment,” Moser said

“Along with that, of course, we are talking about veterans that have been to war. So there’s trauma and that can display itself in the symptoms of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and depression,” she said.

The criteria for seeking services at the Vet Center is expanding beyond “boots on the ground,” sexual trauma, and bereavement, which could happen without being deployed, so Moser encourages all veterans to call the Vet Center to see if they’re eligible.

“To those veterans that are still suffering, that don’t know that we’re here, we can help them and other veterans can help them to see that they’re not alone,” Moser said.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Veterans and volunteers serve food during an open house at the Williamsport Vet Center in Williamsport on Thursday. The event was held to raise community awareness of the services offered by the Vet Center who's goal is to provide connection, camaraderie and community according to their flyer.