Stenciled just below the Department of Veterans Affairs logo on the window of the new Temecula Vet Center office on County Center Drive are the words "Readjustment Counseling Services."

Just below that are the words "Welcome Home."

The paint smells fresh inside the center, which opened in November and offers a variety of counseling services for returning military combat veterans.

A grand opening ceremony is planned for the center at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The local facility is one of about 300 Vet Centers located in all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Established by Congress in 1979 in recognition of the number of Vietnam-era veterans who had experienced the horror of war and were having difficulty readjusting to civilian life, in recent years services have been extended to veterans from World War II to the present.

Almost 40,000 military veterans live in Southwest County, said Doug Allmen, team leader of the Temecula office, which has a full-time staff of six people.

Unlike other veterans service offices, which offer information about educational benefits, employment counseling and other benefits, Vet Centers are designed primarily to serve those who have experienced the worst of the worst.

"You've got to have served in a war zone to be eligible for the services," Allmen said. "We are happy to refer veterans to different offices for other services."

Vet Centers offer treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, along with individual, group, family and marital counseling.

In addition, counseling is available for veterans who have been victims of sexual trauma.

"A lot of women veterans have experienced sexual assault," Allmen said.

Readjustment services also are provided for relatives of combat veterans who have served since 1979, and in 2003 the centers began offering bereavement counseling to surviving parents, spouses, children and siblings of veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice.

All services are provided free to eligible individuals.

Vietnam veteran Lloyd Flowers of Hemet recently made his second trip to the Temecula office. An Army veteran, the soft-spoken Flowers served two tours in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968, and had been going to a Vet Center in Colton until the Temecula office opened.

"I find I get help here with some of the issues I'm dealing with," he said.

A large majority of veterans who have visited the Temecula office served in Vietnam.

"So far, the center has 120 clients," Allmen said. "Of those, 89 are Vietnam veterans."

Four World War II veterans and six from the Korean war also are using the services. The remainder include veterans who have served in more recent wars.

"We're trying to get the word out to the younger veterans that we're here for them, too," Allmen said.

Vanessa Lerma-Jones, 27, of Murrieta is one of those younger veterans who has made use of the counseling services.

Lerma-Jones made four deployments to Iraq from 2003 to 2009. As a U.S. Navy corpsman, her duties included treating U.S. Marines wounded on the front lines.

Several of the counselors who work in the Temecula office are also combat veterans.

"You can't talk about certain subjects with someone who hasn't been there," Lerma-Jones said. "It really helps when you can share stories. Readjustment isn't easy to civilian life."

Lerma-Jones is married to a U.S. Marine who has been deployed to a combat zone twice and currently is preparing for a third tour, this time to Afghanistan.

The Temecula Vet Center is affiliated with the VA Loma Linda Healthcare System and Lerma-Jones is currently a premed student at Loma Linda University.

As part of a work-study program through the university, she is working part-time at the Temecula Vet Center.

"I come in and help out with scheduling appointments," she said. "I try to let others know what kind of services are available."

Making the community aware of the local center has been a top priority for staff members who are busy contacting local veterans groups and city halls.

"We've sent out about 11,000 invitations to our grand opening," Allmen said. "I have absolutely no worries about not having enough veterans in this area who are eligible for our services."

Call staff writer John Hunneman at 951-676-4315, ext. 2603.

Temecula Vet Center

-- Where: 40935 County Center Drive, Suite A & B

-- Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays

-- Call: 951-296-5608