Resource Fair gives opportunity to learn about local resources

Sailors and civilians stationed on board Naval Air Station Corpus Christi (NASCC) had the opportunity to learn about several resources available to them in the local area during the NASCC Awareness and Prevention Resource Fair, held at the Naval Health Clinic Corpus Christi, April 24.

The resource fair included representatives from Military One Source, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi Police Department, Fleet and Family Service Center, local Veterans organizations and local community service groups.

“We wanted to bring awareness to the amount of resources that are available to our personnel and their families in the local area that can assist with everyday issues,” said event organizer Pat Kapitan, NASCC Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC). “We also wanted to highlight some of the current military support services available here on the base, resources such as new parent support, sexual assault response and prevention, the Exceptional Family Member program and more.”

In addition to informing base personnel of the resources available to them both on and off the installation, the resource fair also provided local organizations an opportunity to learn about the military in their community and the resources needed.

“We received a lot of good feedback from the organizations involved and they really appreciated the opportunity to interact with our military and civilian community,” said Kapitan. “As for our personnel, they liked the amount of information provided about the community support resources available to them.”

One of the community representatives present at the event was the Corpus Christi Vet Center, an organization which provides free services to active-duty service members and veterans.

According to Corpus Christi Vet Center Readjustment Counseling Therapist Kristyn Heins, the center is a part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and offers counseling services for readjustment, PTSD, marriage, bereavement, military sexual trauma, and more. “Our main function is to provide counseling for veterans and their families no matter what type of discharge they received,” said Heins. “But we can also help with things like referrals for benefits, employment referrals, mortuary affairs and community outreach.”

There were more than 100 participants who attended the resource fair, and Kapitan hopes that they can host another one in the future.

Another group represented at the event was Texas A&M University Corpus Christi (TAMUCC), whos campus is located on Ocean Drive, just out side NASCC’s North gate. The university has it’s own Veterans Center and provides a beavy of resources to its military veteran students.

“We’re virtually nieghbors, so its great to be able to come out to the base and showcase what resources the university provides to its veteran students,” said Alyssa Good, a licensed proffessional counselor with the university. “The veterans on campus have thier own key-card to utilize the Veterans Center whenever they need to.”

According to Kapitan, the fair was a success and she hopes to host more like it in the fuure.

“Overall we received a lot of great feedback,” Kapitan said. “We hope to have another one down the road, and might combine efforts with other information fairs, but I’d like to see this type of event once or twice a year.”