‘Serving those who served': VA clinic presents ‘VetFest'

Yahoo

a day ago

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – An event for and all about local veterans is making its debut this coming weekend.
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VetFest 2025 is being held at the Carl Nunziato Youngstown VA Clinic on Belmont Avenue on Saturday. The event is an opportunity to introduce veterans to the clinic and its services.
'It's an opportunity for us to celebrate local veterans. What we want to do is we want to have veterans that currently are enrolled here at the facility, or veterans that have not yet enrolled in the facility, come out and see what we're about,' said Carl Schneider, who serves as the facility director at the Carl Nunziato Youngstown VA Clinic. 'Check out the services that we might have available that they're not aware of, or get them veterans that don't know about VA health care information, so they can get enrolled.'
At VetFest 2025, veterans can learn about the many services offered by the clinic and ask as many questions as they want about what the clinic offers. Veterans who are not enrolled can even enroll with the clinic that day at the event.
'It starts with primary care. That's kind of the entry point to receiving care at the VA clinic. Once they get enrolled, there's so many we have so many services that veterans aren't aware of,' said Schneider. 'We have mental health, we have podiatry, optometry, we have a lab here, we have physical therapy. We're adding additional services with specialty care, so we continue to expand the services to accommodate veterans here locally.'
VetFest 2025 is not just for veterans, but also for their families and kids.
'We want to make this a very fun event for families. We want to provide information. We want to connect veterans with local resources that they might not be aware of,' said Schneider. 'We're hoping the weather cooperates and we can have it outside. We're going to have it at the entrance of the clinic, and there's going to be tables. We're going to have activities for kids. We're going to have a live band here. We're going to serve food. It's going to be a great time. It's going to be a fun time for family, for kids, for everybody.'
The Carl Nunziato Youngstown VA Clinic opened in 2021 and continues to expand its offerings and services for veterans.
'We're looking to add an infusion clinic within the next year. That's going to be a big service. A lot of times, veterans are traveling to receive some of these services, and so this is something they felt was necessary to support this area,' said Schneider. 'We've recently added dermatology, so we're expanding our specialty care here so veterans do not have to travel far to receive the care that they deserve and need.'
The event will also feature several community partners, such as the Veterans Service Commission and Youngstown State University. The clinic has also partnered with a local food bank for a food giveaway.
'This is just an opportunity for us to give back, to show our appreciation to the veterans, to the heroes that have made sacrifices. This connects them to the community, and that's what we're about,' said Schneider. 'Engaging the veterans, showing that Youngstown absolutely cares about their veterans. Serving those who served is what it's about, and we're very proud of this clinic and what we do and what we offer here.'
VetFest 2025 is on Saturday, June 7, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Carl Nunziato Youngstown VA Clinic, located at 1815 Belmont Avenue in Youngstown. For more information, call 330-740-9200 and visit VA.gov.
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