Mpls. resource center for homeless veterans opens

A new resource center for homeless veterans opens Tuesday in downtown Minneapolis.

The Veterans Resource Outreach Center is part of a federal initiative to end homelessness among veterans by 2015. It's one of 17 such centers opening around the country.

Center director Jonelle Draughn said veterans will have access to a variety of services there. On any given night, there are about 700 homeless veterans living in Minnesota.

"They can get mental health care, primary medical care, a lot of social support, employment support. We have a computer lab on site here," Draughn said. "There's a lot of things and ways we're able to provide more services, but also closely collaborate with the partners that we're already working with."

The center also has showers and laundry machines, and will be open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. It's located on Harmon Place, half a block east of Metropolitan State University's Minneapolis campus.

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