Norwich — On patrol, members of a military unit know to meet up at a designated “rally point” as a mission unfolds.

Once removed from the battlefield, still-active and former servicemen and -women may find they need another kind of rally point to help them navigate civilian life — a place where they can get the help and services they need to complete life’s missions.

Sometimes, they just need a place to talk to their peers.

On this Veterans Day, the Windsor-based Easterseals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut organization is unveiling such a facility here, the $2.5 million Veterans Rally Point Center at 24 Stott Ave. Down the street from Dodd Stadium, it occupies some 18,000 square feet in a 60,000-square-foot Easterseals building.

Retired Army Brig. Gen. Ron Welch, vice president of military services and economic development for the Veterans Rally Point program, believes it may be the only facility of its kind in the country.

“It’s a veteran-to-veteran approach here,” Welch said Wednesday, leading a tour of the gleaming, immaculate center. “We spent a lot of time thinking about how to use every bit of space, how to provide for every need. The idea was to have everything under one roof. We feel this is unique.”

Active military and members of the National Guard, the Reserve and veterans of all service branches and their families are welcome to use the facility.

“There doesn’t have to be something wrong," Welch said. "We want veterans to think of it as a center of excellence for everything.” 

The center’s wellness studio has space for yoga and meditation classes and a flat-screen monitor that can carry livestreamed instruction into the room. Another room is equipped to cater to veterans who need a job, providing help with resume writing, job coaching and preparation for interviews and employment. The Clothing Closet down the hall has a rack of well-pressed suits, too.

Rebekah Avery, the center’s employment specialist, has been communicating with employers around the state since coming on board 90 days ago, Welch said.

While a medical screening room provides space for the monitoring of vital signs and other minor procedures, the center staff itself provides no medical treatments.

Lori Marriott, a peer specialist who serves as a link between veterans and clinicians, said the center has a relationship with Forge VFR (Veterans and First Responders), a private company that has partnered with the Veterans Administration to fight substance abuse and mental health issues among veterans through outpatient therapy.

Marriott said the center’s setting may help overcome veterans’ well-known reluctance to seek help.

“Behavioral health is a really big priority for us,” said Welch, who cited recent research that found 22 suicides occur daily among veterans and those currently serving in the military. He said the rate is believed to have increased sharply amid the COVID-19 pandemic and following the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Once a month, the center hosts a Norwich-based veterans coffeehouse, one of more than a dozen organized around the state. They feature guest speakers and peer-to-peer discussions of the services available to veterans.

“Everyone is welcome to talk, to share experiences,” said Jim Reid, a Marine Corps veteran who helps organize the local sessions.

Continuing the tour, Welch displayed a huge community room where the center hosted a memorial service last Saturday for Rocco DeLuca, who at 99 was one of the last surviving members of Merrill’s Marauders, an Army unit that distinguished itself fighting in the jungles of Burma during World War II. Some 180 people attended the service, which followed a funeral Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Norwich.

An exercise room has a climbing wall and specially designed fitness equipment that can be accessed by those with physical disabilities, including the wheelchair-bound.

A “maker space,” inspired by the military hobby shops of an earlier era, has a pottery kiln, drill press, band saw and other equipment. On Wednesday, the center was awaiting a donation of tools for the space from local Lowe’s stores.

“Our thought was to engage the creative spirit, to challenge veterans both mentally and physically,” Welch said.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, and state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, both instrumental in securing the state funding for the center in 2018, were expected to join other dignitaries at Thursday afternoon's ribbon-cutting.

“Easterseals’ decision to invest in this state-of-the-art veterans’ complex in eastern Connecticut makes sense, especially in Norwich,” Courtney said Wednesday. “Our region has a higher density of veterans than any other part of the state — it’s a diverse group that will really be able to benefit from the center’s programs. The new VRP Center will provide community support and services to all of our region’s veterans — like young vets looking to advance their careers, moms and dads with kids in school, and veteran small business owners and entrepreneurs, to name a few.”

Osten, an Army veteran, said the center has no equal in Connecticut.

“Anytime we can do something for veterans, it’s really, really important,” she said. “Our National Guard is being deployed three, four, five, six times. This center will provide them with what they need to feel that their service is worth something.”

Welch said the center’s opening is well timed, given that a large Connecticut National Guard deployment soon will be returning to the state. Related housing and employment issues, strained relationships and behavioral health problems can be expected to crop up, he said.

In Norwich, the rally point is on Stott Avenue.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com