EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The El Paso Veterans Wellness Center has been in the works since spring 2023 and is moving closer to completion this week with a special event to mark the occasion.
This state-of-the-art facility, brought to Borderland by Endeavors, is expected to be completed in late 2025.
The center will include integrated mental and physical health services that will be based around suicide prevention for Borderland veterans.
This model will provide telehealth and in-person services as well as support groups, professional development training, a fitness center, group fitness classes, case management and much more.
Ben Miranda, external affairs manager for the Endeavors organization, told KTSM the facility is only the second of its kind in the entire country. The first is located in San Antonio.
Miranda explained that the center is for veterans, first responders and their families.
“If they want massage therapy, acupuncture, any type of service, they can just walk in.” But the good thing is if they get a massage, they start talking to the therapist who is helping them and they start a conversation which they also have. want to see a mental health counselor, they don’t have to drive across town, everything is fine there,” Miranda said.
All this with the aim of preventing suicide and saving “lives, marriages and families”.
Miranda explained that the need for such a facility is great in El Paso after conducting a Veterans Needs Assessment analysis in 2019.
“Some of those needs are more mental health services, more connected services, more wellness services,” he said.
The organization, working with the city, county and chamber, found that the best location for this center is between ZIP codes 79936 and 79938, where most veterans and their families live.
Endeavors is hosting a special event on Wednesday, May 22 at the corner of Pebble Hills and Joe Battle, where the center is located.
The final steel beam will be completed with a special ceremony attended by local veterans.
Endeavors invites anyone who would like to be a part of it to turn up at 8:30 a.m. and leave their signature or an inspiring message on the final beam before it goes up.
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