St. Lucie County Veterans Mental Health Program

St. Lucie County funds a Veterans Mental Health Program with American Rescue Plan Act money: a $200,000 allocation the Board approved, carried by a professional services agreement (C22-07-513) signed July 5, 2022 with The Counseling Center, Inc., d/b/a Integrated Healthcare Systems, a Florida for-profit corporation, to provide licensed mental and behavioral health services to veterans and other vulnerable populations in the county, with a specific focus on substance abuse and mental health crisis care and wrap-around services. The budget. The first amendment (December 2023) extended the term through fiscal 2024; the second (April 9, 2024) cut the total programme budget by $80,000 and extended the term to December 31, 2026 or until the revised budget was spent. The third amendment, adopted by the Board by consent vote on November 4, 2025, realigned the remaining ARPA funds from contract labor toward professional services and set the total programme budget at $218,633: $138,633 for the ARPA-funded portion and a not-to-exceed amount of $80,000 for fiscal 2026, all-inclusive, with the County's obligation capped at that total. Services are to be completed within the agreed programme budget. What it has done. The county's agenda report for the third amendment states that since its launch the programme has helped 123 veterans obtain service-connected disability benefits at varying levels (30%, 50%, 70% and 100%), and measures the financial impact from each veteran's monthly benefit. A veteran seeking care should ask the county's Veteran Services division (772-337-5670) for the current route into the programme; the contract's term ends December 31, 2026, and any extension would need the Board's approval.