CHULA VISTA – Chula Vista will be the site of one of 39 new Department of Veterans Affairs counseling centers for recent combat veterans and their families, VA officials said last week.

Four counselors and one administrative aide will staff the new center, which will help veterans who have suffered combat stress or sexual harassment, said Dr. Karen Schoenfeld-Smith, a VA counselor in San Diego. The center also will offer grief counseling to family members of military personnel who are killed in combat.

There are 232 similar counseling centers across the country, including offices in San Diego and San Marcos. Other new centers are slated for Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento and San Bernardino counties. About 100 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are being hired nationwide to help bring others into the program.

The VA is budgeting about $20 million for the 39 new centers, according to an agency news release.

VA officials haven't identified a location for the Chula Vista center, Schoenfeld-Smith said, but will be seeking input from local veterans. The center is expected to open in 12 to 18 months.