EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – El Paso Veterans Wellness Center has been in the works since spring of 2023 and it’s getting one step closer to completion this week with a special event to mark the occasion.
This state-state-of-the-art facility, brought to the Borderland by Endeavors, is projected to be finished in late 2025.
The center will include an integrated mental and physical health services that will be based on suicide prevention for Borderland veterans.
This model will provide telehealth and in-person services along with support groups, professional development training, a fitness center, group fitness classes, case management and more.
Endeavors organization corporate external affairs officer Ben Miranda told KTSM this facility is only the second one of its kind in the entire country. The first one is located in San Antonio.
Miranda explained that the center is meant 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 are getting a massage, and they start speaking to the therapist helping them and they start a conversation that they also want to see a mental health counselor, they don’t have to drive across town, it’s all right there,” Miranda said.
It’s all in an effort to prevent suicide and save “lives, marriages and families.”
Miranda explained that the need for such a facility is great in El Paso after having conducted a veterans need assessment analysis in 2019.
“Some of these needs are more mental health services, more connected services, more wellness services,” he said.
The organization in collaboration with the city, county and the chamber found that the best location for this center is between 79936 and 79938 ZIP codes where most veterans and their families live.
Endeavors is hosting a special event on Wednesday, May 22 on the corner of Pebble Hills and Joe Battle, where the center is located.
The last steel beam will be topped off with a special ceremony that includes local veterans.
Endeavors is inviting everyone who wants to be a part of it to show up at 8:30 a.m. and leave their signature or an inspirational message on the last beam before it goes up.
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