Home Base Florida has been working hard to improve the mental health and wellness of the more than 1.5 million Veterans (including over 400,000 who have served Post 9/11) who call Florida home since it launched in Southwest Florida in 2014 with its flagship Warrior Health and Fitness Program and later adding outpatient clinical care in 2019. Through the continued and growing support of donors, in 2022 it expanded in Tampa and in 2023 began providing outreach services in Puerto Rico. But with more than 8,000 U.S. Veterans taking their own lives each year, including over 500 in Florida, Home Base Florida knew more needed to be done to expand in other parts of the state.

With more than six military installations in Northwest Florida including Tyndall Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Panama City, Eglin Air Force Base, Hurlburt Field, Naval Air Station Whiting Field and Naval Air Station Pensacola, there are over 39,117 active-duty military in the region and Veterans represent 12% of the region’s workforce, twice the average US rate. As a result, Home Base Florida set its sights to expand into the Panhandle to better serve Veterans and Military Families who live and work in Northwest Florida. 

Lakeview Center Outpatient Clinical Partnership  

Home Base Florida is able to improve the lives of those affected by military service-related trauma and promote overall well-being through its world-class strategic partnerships with universities, treatment centers and wellness companies across the state. Modeled after their successful clinical partnerships with David Lawrence Centers and Lee Health in Southwest Florida, Home Base Florida officially expanded into Pensacola in November 2024 with the launch of a new outpatient clinic in partnership with Lakeview Center, the largest, most comprehensive non-profit provider of behavioral health care in Northwest Florida with more 70 years of experience serving children, adults, and families. 

Through the partnership, outpatient clinical care is now available at no cost for Veterans and Military Families in Northwest Florida for a variety of behavioral health needs including post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, anger, grief and loss and co-occurring substance use issues. Each of Home Base Florida’s partner clinics receives extensive training in evidence-based therapies and military-informed care from our clinical experts at the country’s leading Psychiatry Department at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The outpatient services complement Lakeview Center’s 60+ programs from crisis support and outpatient treatment to community-based care and residential programs and improves access to Home Base Florida’s Warrior Health and Fitness Program, Adventure Series, education and wellness programs as well as Home Base’s intensive clinical program in Boston. 

New Funding Makes Expansion Possible

Home Base Florida is grateful for the significant support from the Pensacola-based Blue Angels Foundation and the Florida legislature for allocating $2 million in the Fiscal Year 2025 state budget to support the launch of this program.

At the launch ceremony and reception local and state dignitaries, community partners and stakeholders gathered to commemorate the milestone. Blue Angels Foundation representatives were on hand to celebrate the partnership and share with the audience its importance.

“Home Base provides direct services to Veterans in the mental health and wellness space and the Blue Angels Foundation brings a strong brand of trust and respect,” said Scott Kartvedt, a former Blue Angel and President of the Blue Angels Foundation. “The partnership just makes sense. Pensacola is the cradle of naval aviation and Blue Angels is the hometown team. It’s the right time for the right cause.”

Jon Fay, a Navy Veteran, former Blue Angel and Pensacola resident who utilized Home Base’s clinical programs in Boston and Florida, shared his personal story. “In the military, we spend years in high pressure environments, trained to be at peak performance each day,” he said. “And yet when we transition out, that same intensity often turns inward. For many like me, it becomes a battle fought in silence.”

After receiving evaluation, diagnosis and treatment for PTSD, anxiety, TBI and other mental health challenges, Fay found relief knowing he wasn’t alone. He told the audience that the Veteran transition process is a huge process, but it should be rewarding and enjoyable. “I would encourage any Veteran to seek help at Home Base,” he said. “We need to remove the stigma of mental health challenges. If you need help, seek it.”

If you know a Florida Veteran in need of clinical care, contact a member of our care team and start the wellness journey today.