(Seguin) – If you want to know what veterans think about the new Guadalupe County Veterans Outreach Center, then just ask 12th Sgt. Major of the Marine Corps Gene Overstreet. Overstreet, a resident of Guadalupe County, served as the guest speaker during Wednesday’s grand opening of the new service center located at 205 E. Weinert Street.
Ribbon cutting ceremonies and a tour of the facility were part of the opening celebration for the center which will serve as a one stop shop for veterans.
Overstreet says there’s no better gift to veterans than this one-of-a-kind center that brings a huge menu of services to them locally.
“If you look at America today, the propensity to serve is almost down to seven percent and if you look at the people that are qualified to serve, that’s down. Only about 17 percent of America can serve today because if you look at the age group that we are looking at, if you take out the kids that have been in trouble with the law, the kids that have been on drugs, the kids that can’t pass a test, illiteracy, kids that failed out of high school – things like that – the military now, we only take high school graduates. That’s at starting and you have to pass a drug test and we have more veterans here in Guadalupe County than Hays County has, and Comal County has so this is a very patriotic county right here and we need to keep that going. I think this is one of the ways to keep it going because the young kids will see ‘Okay, look at that. They are taking care of those veterans. They are taking care of those who went to serve and with the menu of services that they offer here, what a great collage of bringing them all together. Now, we can go to one place and get just about anything you need,” said Overstreet.
The center started simply with a vision in 2017. Since then, county officials say they have worked steadily to keep the project a priority although they say sometimes it was rough. Guadalupe County Commissioner Greg Seidenberger says despite the challenges of finding the necessary resources to create this project, he credits Guadalupe County Judge Kyle Kutscher for his dedication and his willingness to never let go of this vision that has been supported fully by members of the commissioners’ court including former Commissioners Jim Wolverton and Judy Cope.
It is said that the new veterans center will serve as the blueprint for other similar projects throughout the state.
However, what perhaps makes the construction even more significant for the community is the history behind the building which once served as the city’s old hospital. Overstreet says the history alone includes a pair of American heroes.
“This happened in 1946. Right after World War II, there were two army nurses, both veterans that got together and said, ‘we have no hospital here in Seguin.’ I’m sure there was a lot of people coming back from World War II that had PTSD. We didn’t call it that then. We didn’t know what it was. We called it Soldiers Heart. We called it shell shock. We called it a bunch of other stuff but basically it was PTSD, but we just didn’t have a clinical name to put to it. So, those nurses recognized that and for the rest of the community, we needed a hospital here for the general community. It was a 26-bed facility but boy, that was 26 beds better and more than we had before and you’ve got to start someplace, and they started someplace. It’s amazing now 80 years later, it goes full circle, and it comes back to a veteran’s center here. How cool is that? said Overstreet.
Initiating this now full circle of events in 1967, were Veterans Sarah Hazard and Dorothea Siepmann – again both recognized for starting a hospital in Seguin.
Among the services to be provided to veterans in this new center are legal, financial, fitness and nutrition, VA mortgage, Medicare/insurance, equine therapy, recreational therapy, amputee-inclusive therapy, surviving spouse group, women veterans and veterans’ brunch. Although there will not be a VA Health Clinic at this time, county officials say representatives from the VA Health Clinic will be made available.
Not only will the center serve as a location for resources but also as a gathering place for veterans to spend their time. Equipped with an outside patio and grilling space, veterans are invited to simply stop by and enjoy a cup of coffee, sit outside, or walk around a shaded trail.
Informational sessions will also be provided for ongoing education as well as to keep veterans involved. Planned social activities are also expected to help fill up the local calendar.
The new center can be reached by calling 830-303-4188 ext. 1249 or by emailing voc@co.guadalupe.tx.us.
