A vision for veterans: New wellness center at Bastion veterans community

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Bastion is a special neighborhood for veterans in Gentilly on Mirabeau Avenue. They are expanding with a new wellness center.

Jackson Smith’s got a vision for veterans.

“We’ve been working for years to break past our capacity limitations to serve even more veterans than those who live on Mirabeau Avenue,” Smith said.

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Smith is the Executive Director of Bastion, a non-profit organization which houses veterans on their five acres in 58 homes.

Smith is pleased they are expanding with their new veteran’s wellness center.

“The veterans wellness center is our way of bringing the model of care that the veterans of Bastion have developed within our residential community to the hundreds of thousands of veterans across our city who need the kind of support that our veterans provide each other here,” he said.

The new veterans wellness center will increase space for Bastion’s programs like mental health care and rehab for vets with brain injuries.

“So bottom line we wanted to create a single, definitive hub for 15,000 strong citywide community veterans. One place where veterans could get the help they need,” Smith said.

Once the veterans wellness center is complete it would not only serve all the veterans in the community, but it’ll serve the neighborhood as a whole in times of need.

“The building will be equipped with solar panels and batteries that means next Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Ida, we’ll serve the broader community,” Smith said.

“One of the thing that we really like is that this entire building has been built around and integrated with the outdoor space,” he said.

Smith said the new veterans wellness center provides resources and connections for veterans.

A vision worth fighting for.

The new wellness center is slated to open in November, just in time for Veterans Day.

Bastion is located at 1901 Mirabeau Avenue.

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