Carbon County is partnering with St. Luke’s University Health Network to provide a satellite office for veterans to receive behavioral health services.

The county commissioners approved an agreement Thursday with St. Luke’s for the lease of approximately 355 square feet of office space in the new walk-in behavioral health center at the former Gnaden Huetten campus at 211 N. 12th St., Lehighton. The space will be used as a satellite office for the Carbon County Veterans Affairs office and to provide medical services in behavioral health.

The lease, at no cost to the county, starts Sept. 1 and is for two years. There will no fee for the use of the site as long as it continues to provide these services for area veterans, the agreement stipulates.

Christine LeClair, the county Veterans Affairs director, said this is a much needed service for veterans.

“I approached them (St. Luke’s) when I started a few years ago, hoping to just have a booth in the hospital because I noticed they had a lot of veterans coming through, in their waiting rooms and things like that,” she said. “They did me one better and offered us office space.”

LeClair said it’s hard sometimes for veterans to get to the office.

“They’re dissuaded by the traffic and just coming into town, so having the option to have it in Lehighton would be fantastic,” LeClair said.

She said her office will be able to do claims work with veterans from the Lehighton site, and provide additional services that veterans normally had to travel for.

The Scranton Vet Center will staff the new Lehighton site on Wednesdays to provide veterans with peer-to-peer and individual counseling sessions, as well as fill out claims and provide other information.

LeClair hopes to also bring Together With Veterans NEPA to the site. This organization has worked to help address the needs of veterans, including providing activities, information booths and services.