Three Minutes Apart, One Mission
By Paloma Schuller
FRESNO, CA – On the busy street of Shaw Avenue in Fresno, two buildings, just three minutes away from one another, one marked by county service, the other by federal care. Inside, lives are being rebuilt on a similar basis.
At the Fresno County Veterans Service Office, veterans walk in with paperwork, claims, files, questions and often, invisible wounds. The VA office helps all veterans in Fresno County navigate their benefits they are eligible for, file their claims, and also connect with essential services that are vital in improving the lives of those who have served and are retiring.. According to the county, it provides “a diverse range of services” including referrals to mental health support and community programs.
“What we do day in and day out is help veterans get connected to their benefits,” said Kyle Pennington, Fresno County’s Veteran Resource Officer. “Additionally to that, we have become the hub of information for anything veteran related in the Central Valley.”
The Fresno County Veterans Service Office offers something less tangible, but just as critical to improve the lives of those who have served, and their families: Healing. At the county office, veterans can access free and confidential counseling for PTSD, depression and trauma. Staff are dedicated to working with veterans and their families in “building meaningful connections” and improving the overall quality of life.
Together, these spaces form a quiet ecosystem of support.
From Service to Student Life
Three minutes away, just across the street at Fresno State, another piece of a similar ecosystem exists: the Student Veterans Resource Center.
The university serves hundreds of veterans, around 775 student veterans are currently enrolled at Fresno State, all of whom can access the center’s services. The student veteran center also helps veterans transition from military to academic life, offering advising, benefits assistance and referrals to campus and community support.
But Fresno State’s connection to veteran services goes deeper than paperwork or counseling.
Through its ROTC programs, including Army and Air Force training pathways, the university maintains a direct pipeline between military service and higher education. ROTC cadets train on campus, often interacting with veteran students and staff, creating a shared culture of service.
“So we’re connected to Fresno State in a couple of different ways, first and foremost we can work hand in hand with the veterans programs that are at Fresno State,” said Pennington. “Specifcally the veterans club that they have there, we have a couple of their members who work here in our offices. Additionally we partner with the ROTC program on a couple of different events. Both ROTC programs, both the army and the air force.”
The Student Veterans Resource Center also gives students an area to relax, do homework and have some down time.
“They [The student veteran’s resource center] even have a little lounge area where if I have downtime between classes, I can go in there and unwind or work on homework,” said Rhyen Simon Valdez, student veteran at Fresno State. “They provide us with computers, and they also have a little study room that you can borrow if nobody is in there.”
This connection matters. It ties together three phases of a military journey:
- Service (ROTC / active duty)
- Transition (education and benefits)
- Support (county and VA services)
In Fresno, those phases are not separate, they overlap.
For many veterans, the transition to civilian life is not simple. The challenges are often internal.
National data paints a stark picture. About 17.5 veterans die by suicide each day in the U.S. Additionally, veterans are 1.6 times more likely to experience mental health conditions than non-veterans and between 11% and 20% of veterans experience PTSD. Even more striking: 61% of veterans who died by suicide in 2023 were not receiving VA care .
That statistic underscores a critical issue, not just mental health itself, but access to care.
For Jack Daley, who served 7 and a half years in Iraq, the Veterans resource center is a saving grace.
“I feel very well taken care of and I feel like I’m going to get something accomplished this time and reach my goals, as far as my rating with my disabilities and what not,” said Daley. “I have trust in this place.”
When a veteran visits the county office, they might be referred to counseling. When a student struggles on campus, the university can connect them to both VA and county services. When ROTC cadets prepare for service, they do so within a system that already exists to support them afterward.
A continuous loop of help and services for those who have helped and served.
At centers like the Fresno County Veterans Service Office, counseling is intentionally accessible. Veterans don’t even need to be enrolled in VA health care to receive help. This in turn, removes a big barrier especially for those who are hesitant to seek formal treatment.
Meanwhile, community programs across Fresno provide trauma-informed therapy, family counseling, and crisis support for veterans dealing with anxiety, PTSD, or depression .
A Culture of Understanding
One of the most important aspects of these spaces is something harder to measure: understanding.
Veterans often struggle with isolation after leaving the military. The structure, identity, and camaraderie of service disappear almost overnight.
Spaces like Fresno State’s Veterans Resource Center recreate that sense of belonging. County and VA offices reinforce it with support systems staffed by people familiar with military culture.
This matters because stigma remains one of the biggest barriers to care. Many veterans delay or avoid seeking help due to fear of judgment or perceived weakness .
Local, connected resources help break that barrier.
More Than Services—A Lifeline
The relationship between Fresno State, ROTC programs, and Fresno County veteran services is not just administrative—it’s human.
It ensures that:
- A cadet training today knows where to turn tomorrow
- A student veteran has both academic and emotional support
- A struggling veteran can walk into an office and be guided, not turned away
In a country where thousands of veterans still fall through the cracks each year, systems like Fresno’s offer a model of what connection can look like.
Because for many veterans, the hardest battle isn’t overseas.
It’s coming home—and finding the support to stay.