Home Non-Profit Tonight: East County Veterans Resource Center Celebrates One Year Anniversary

Tonight: East County Veterans Resource Center Celebrates One Year Anniversary

by ECT

East County Veterans Peer to Peer

A little over a year ago, a group of veterans were meeting in the back of a thrift shop swapping military stories while figuring out a ways they could reach out to more veterans within the community. The goal was simple, to help as many veterans as possible.

A year later, the East County Veterans Resource Center will be celebrating its one year anniversary this evening with a ribbon cutting. The East County Veterans Resource Center is part of East County Veterans, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing support for veterans and their families.  The VeteransResource Center is located at 1023 West 2nd Street.

East County Veterans Resource Center Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Assemblyman Jim Frazier and the Antioch Chamber of Commerce invite you to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony
Date:
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: East County Veterans Resource Center @ 1023 W. 2nd Street Antioch

The building is provided by the work of Josie Monaghan and several volunteers who uses funds from her two downtown thrift stores to allow the veterans to have a place of their own. Since its opening in February of 2013, the resource center has provided veterans with peer-based support, resources and education through collaboration with agencies and citizens in the East County area.

“We are supported by the two stores in downtown Antioch which funds the $2,200 per month overhead total,” explained executive director of the center Jim Marchetti. “We take collections from veterans to cover the meals but most of the funding comes from stores.”

Marchetti explained that a little over a year ago, Josie caught wind the building located on L & 2nd was becoming available and had it in her mind to provide a space for veterans–helping them move out of a small room to a good sized facility for their need. With the finances making sense, she moved forward with her plan.

“It was the right time, it’s something you could not plan it just happened and she just snatched it up,” said Marchetti. “If that didn’t happen, we would still be meeting in the back of the thrift shop with 3-5 people. It allowed us to grow”.

Currently, the Resource Center is open Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday through volunteerism of local veterans. The group has also grown from 4-veterans to over 25-veterans who participate in the peer-to-peer sessions. The Resource Center is a place for veterans to hang out, chat, network, while it also allows veterans to help one another through information gathering on services available to them.

The goal is to help in a variety of ways within the veteran community.

“We have every kind of need you can think of from homeless veterans to those looking for services. The homeless don’t come because it’s a free meal; they come because they want to hang out with veterans—camaraderie is what they have been looking for and now they have it here. We have those types of needs, but we also have veterans who need help knowing what programs and benefits are available to them. We assist with veteran’s claims process,” explained Marchetti.

Another way the group helps is with conversation and counseling. Although they do not have a certified counselor on hand, it’s a lot of peer-to-peer discussion. Marchetti says that through the sessions people get out of their shell quickly and points out it’s about the camaraderie of being around veterans more than anything else.

“The veteran’s resource center will help provide everything you can think of that a person might need, we will get them to it, or we will show them the way to get what they need. Sometimes it’s just friendship.

Marchetti explained that getting involved with the veterans community in East County has helped him. He shared that he has been out of the Navy since 1992 and it took him until 2013 to find a connection again.

“I didn’t know the thrift store existed and I almost caused a four-car accident because I stopped and I went into to ask what this east county veteran’s thing is all about. This is what I was looking for twenty plus years,” said Marchetti.

Each Wednesday night, the center hosts a meal followed by peer-to-peer discussions. While the meal is open to visitors, the peer-to-peer discussion is for veterans only.  This allows veterans a chance to find that connection that may have been missing since serving in the military.

“There is a common thread that runs through veterans that other than saying camaraderie it’s impossible to put words to. We cannot explain but veterans understand. We sit there and talk, cry and laugh. Nobody gets it but us,” explained Marchetti.

According to Marchetti, the group has a wide range of veterans from World War II up to Afghanistan and non-combat veterans.

“It doesn’t matter when or where you served because it’s a unique lifestyle and an experience veterans will never forget. The goal is to help others keep that connection because veterans understand the connection where words do not even have to be spoken to understand one another,” said Marchetti.

Marchetti’s says that while the peer-to-peer meetings have been a great resource, he now will work with others to expand the centers hours by finding funding in the form of donations and sponsorships to allow more services to be offered.

East County Veterans Thrift Store
By shopping at either location, it goes to help fund the Resource Center by paying rent and providing other services. The stores are located at:

  • 708 2nd Street, Antioch
  • 716 2nd Street, Antioch

Store Hours

  • Monday – Friday 10am – 7pm
  • Saturday – 10am – 4pm

Donations Welcome: Your donations are very much appreciated, we accept all house hold items; kitchen, living room, bedroom, tools. Clothing; mens, womens, children. Home Decor. Furniture.

They Do Not Accept: appliances, exercise equipment (large), car seats, strollers, cribs and mattresses.

For more information, you can contact (925) 206-4113.

Sponsoring a Meal:
Sponsorships are available if someone wishes to provide a meal on a Wednesday night—business or families can purchase a meal $50-$100 or they can cook a hot meal.  Sponsors are invited to join the veterans during mealtime.

For more information contact Jim Marchetti (925) 642-0791

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2 comments

Leslie Mar 18, 2014 - 1:48 pm

Congratulations Josie… your work-ethic is incredible. What a blessing!

Marva Lyons Mar 28, 2014 - 11:24 pm

Congratulations Josie! May God continue to Bless You….from Their Angels Military Support Group.

Comments are closed.