Connection. Camaraderie. Community.

Those are the three principles of the Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Center, which, for the past 46 years, has helped give thousands of our brave servicemembers a trusted place to turn for help.

That includes 25,000 veterans in the Des Moines metro alone.

"Our focus is usually on trauma. So, we specialize in combat trauma. Or military sexual trauma. Or traumatic experiences or things that are distressing to them that they've experienced while in the service," Des Moines Vet Center Director Katina Mach-Weissenburger tells KCCI.

The Vet Center has two satellite offices and is one of three Vet Centers in the state. Mach-Weissenburger has worked at the location in Des Moines for 25 years and says, "It's a big first step for them to come in and say I

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