SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif- Across America there are about 21 million veterans, and the number of vets needing help is exploding. In San Luis Obispo County there are over 20-thousand vets. Now a new center has opened, San Luis Obispo Vets Center. Cindy Conn works there and spent 18 years in the service.
Conn spent most her life in the military, and making the transition to every day life wasn't easy. "Military life versus civilian life has a lot of differences, the biggest difference and the hardest part I had was that the civilian world was not as structured as a military world," said Cindy Conn, a veteran.
So when Conn got back from deployment disabled, she took a chance and got help. "It's hard to admit you need help because most of us like to be self reliant, and once we do though, for me it was a lot easier," said Conn.
Now she works for San Luis Obispo Vets Center. These kinds of places are needed by vets young and old, because once home from war, the transition period can last a life time.
"We see Vietnam veterans, veterans from World War II, veterans from the Korean War, in fact our oldest veteran is 92 years old and our youngest veteran is 21 years old," said Team Leader Mike Young, also a veteran.
For people like Conn, helping veterans is much more than a job. "Here its important for me to be able to help veterans because they do deserve the help we can give them, they served their country one year, two years, 30 years, they took that oath to defend this country and they have the right to that help," said Conn.
In San Luis Obispo there are now three different resources for vets, the new SLO Vets Center, the VA clinic and SLO Veterans Memorial Building that offers assistance.
San Luis Obispo Vet Center:
1070 Southwood Drive. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Phone: 805-210-6634
