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Newsflash | Resources | Returning Veterans Project

NewsFlash | Returning Veterans Project

VA partnerships serve hard-to-reach populations

VA aims to provide mental health care and other services to all Veterans, regardless of their location or circumstances, but not all Veterans are enrolled with VA.

To reach them, VA often works with community service providers, who have boots-on-the-ground contact with this population.

Returning Veterans Project (RVP) serves Veterans and former service members in Oregon and southwestern Washington. The VISN 20 (Northwest) MIRECC and VA Northwest Health Network have a mutually beneficial relationship, demonstrating how even unofficial partnerships and collaborations can result in gains for Veterans.

A mutually beneficial relationship

Non-profit RVP is based in Portland, Oregon. They address the challenges of transitioning back into civilian life for area Veterans who served in war zones since 9/11. Through its growing network of volunteer health care providers and specialists, RVP provides free treatment to Veterans and former military personnel, some of whom can’t or choose not to access VA services. The program makes care more accessible for thousands in the region.

VA’s relationship with RVP is rooted in shared missions of providing top-tier care and helping Veterans and their families overcome barriers that keep them from accessing quality resources. By working together to find the best ways to serve hard-to-reach populations, RVP and VA are boosting public trust in both institutions, exemplifying how collaborations can enhance care for Veterans — not just those enrolled with VA.

Informal relationships can benefit the community organizations involved as well as VA. With the VA-RVP collaboration:

• Volunteer providers can access VA educational resources on mental health, including continuing education programs that provide insight about challenges unique to those who served.
• Providers benefit from insights into military culture and information about VA research, resources and approved treatments.

Future VA collaborations

Since the VISN 20 MIRECC formed, it has focused on delivering care and assistance to underserved and rural communities in the Northwest. A unique feature of Oregon and southwestern Washington is the region’s lack of active bases, which can make it more difficult to contact already hard-to-reach groups of Veterans.

By working together, VA and local groups like RVP can provide care to Veterans who may otherwise go without the services they earned and need.

If you are interested in exploring similar relationships with community service providers in your area, email visn20mirecc@va.gov. The team can explain how the RVP partnership was established and how it benefits providers, community organizations and Veterans.

Drs. James Boehnlein and Ruth Ann Tsukuda have been associate directors for education at the VISN 20 MIRECC since its inception in 1998. They are co-directors of the Portland postdoctoral fellowship site for the VA Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment. Dr. Boehnlein is a professor of psychiatry at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), and his research and clinical work focus on cross-cultural assessment and treatment of PTSD. Dr. Tsukuda is an assistant professor in OHSU’s School of Medicine Division of Management. Her academic interests center on interprofessional practice and organizational ethics.

This article published on June 9th, 2022 and first appeared on the VA Insider Blog, the official intranet website of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Use of these Materials and Finding VA Health Care

Please note that the health care information provided in these materials is for educational purposes only. It does not replace the role of a medical practitioner for advice on care and treatment. If you are looking for professional medical care, find your local VA healthcare center by using the VA Facilities Locator & Directory. This page may contain links that will take you outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs website. VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked websites.

Veterans Integrated Service Network 20 (VISN 20) serves 135 counties in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and extending into Del Norte County California and Lincoln County Montana. VISN 20 is the largest geographic region of VA and home to 273 federally recognized American Indian and Alaskan Native tribes, 229 of which are located in Alaska. Encompassing 23% of the US land mass, VISN 20 spans three time zones over 817,417 square miles. VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS) and the Portland VA Health Care System (VAPORHCS) were commissioned by Congress and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as one of the first three Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Centers (MIRECCs) in the United States. VAPSHCS serves Veterans from a five-state area in the Pacific Northwest with two main divisions: American Lake VA Medical Center and Seattle VA Medical Center. VA Outpatient Clinics and Vet Centers in Washington are located in Bellingham, Bellevue, Bremerton, Chehalis, Edmunds, Everett, Federal Way, Lacey, Mount Vernon, Olympia, Port Angeles, Puyallup, Richland, Renton, Silverdale, Seattle, Spokane, Union Gap, Vancouver, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, and Yakima. Veterans in Washington are also served by VA Medical Centers in Spokane, Vancouver, and Walla Walla. VAPORHCS serves Veterans in Oregon and Southwest Washington with two main divisions: Portland VA Medical Center and Vancouver VA Medical Center. VA Outpatient Clinics and Vet Centers in Oregon are located in Bend, Boardman, Brookings, Enterprise, Eugene, Fairview, Grants Pass, Hines, Hillsboro, Klamath Falls, LaGrande, Lincoln City, Newport, Portland, Salem, The Dalles, Warrenton, and West Linn. Veterans in Oregon are also served by VA Medical Centers in Roseburg, White City, and Vancouver, Washington.

Browse facilities by state

VA provides health care for Veterans from providers in the local community outside of VA. Veterans may be eligible to receive care from a community provider when VA cannot provide the care needed. VA launched its new and improved Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP) on June 6, 2019, implementing portions of the VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act of 2018 (MISSION Act), which both ended the Veterans Choice Program and established VCCP. Types of care under the new VCCP include General Community Care, Urgent Care, Emergency Care, Foreign Medical Care, Home Health and Hospice Care, Indian and Tribal Health Services, In Vitro Fertilization, State Veterans Home, and Flu Shots. Veterans work with their VA health care provider or other VA staff to see if they are eligible to receive community care based on new criteria. The VA Community Care Network (CCN) is VA’s direct link with community providers to ensure Veterans receive timely, high-quality care.

Vet Centers in the VISN 20 Health Care Network are community-based counseling centers that provide a wide range of social and psychological services, including professional readjustment counseling to eligible Veterans, active-duty Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force, and Space Force service members, including National Guard and Reserve components, and their families. 1-877-WAR-VETS is an around the clock confidential call center where Veterans, service members and their families can talk about their military experience or any other issue they are facing in transitioning after military service or trauma and get connected to their nearest Vet Center.

Vet Centers in VISN 20

Vet Centers provide counseling 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. If you can’t make it to a nearby Vet Center, VA offers satellite Vet Center locations and Mobile Vet Centers that may be closer to you.

Explore VA.gov

VA has a variety of mental health resources, information, treatment options, and more — all accessible to Veterans, Veterans’ supporters, and the general public. Explore the pages below to learn more about a specific mental health topic. Each of these pages includes resources, information on treatment options, and more.

Stories of Support