A new behavioral health and recovery housing center has opened in Phoenix honoring Sen. John McCain and aiming to help local veterans.

Axiom Care, a Phoenix-based provider of behavioral health and recovery housing since 2012, announced the opening of the John McCain Veterans Center on March 11.

The center, a 60-bed transitional housing program designed to serve veterans navigating challenges related to substance use disorders, mental health conditions, trauma and homelessness, is on the campus of Victory Place, a 200-apartment veteran-focused affordable housing community established in 2001.

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week were U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Jim McCain and his mother, Ambassador Cindy McCain, wife of the late U.S. Senator John McCain.

“My husband would be very proud of what this place stands for, proud of the veterans who will find hope here, and especially proud of our son’s involvement,” said Ambassador Cindy McCain.

The partnership between Axiom Care, nonprofit Axiom Community of Recovery and Victory Place is the first step in a collective vision to combine short-term recovery services with long-term accessible and affordable housing geared toward the unique needs of veterans.

“For many veterans, the transition from service to civilian life, is not a straight road,” said Jim McCain. “It can be confusing, isolating and overwhelming. Some carry physical wounds, many carry invisible ones, and too often they try to carry those burdens alone,” he said.

The new center provides a recovery-oriented continuum of care where low-income veterans struggling to navigate the challenges of substance use disorders, mental health conditions, trauma and homelessness can live in a structured setting and engage in outpatient mental health and substance use treatment services, to gain the stability and support needed to transition to long-term housing on the Victory Place Campus.

“The culture of the military teaches you resilience, toughness and endurance — and those qualities are important, but sometimes they make it harder to admit when you need that support. Recovery is not something you do alone; it takes a community, it takes structure, it takes accountability in yourself — and it takes people who understand where you’ve been. That is why what Axiom Care has created here matters,” McCain continued.

Also in attendance were former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Rep. Yassamin Ansari, Phoenix Vice Mayor Kesha Hodge Washington, U.S. Army Medal of Honor Recipient, Retired Sergeant First Class Leroy A. Petry and longtime McCain family friends Sharon and Dr. Oliver Harper.

“I grew up in a family of veterans, including my father who served in World War II,” said Axiom Care co-founder Vern Johnson. “I also grew up watching my dad live with PTSD, long before we knew what it was or how to treat it. Those experiences stayed with me and are a big part of why Axiom Care exists, and why we have this program today.”

Support services provided by nonprofit partner Axiom Community of Recovery include peer support, case management, housing navigation, workforce development and creative healing through its Art of Our Soul studio.

“When a veteran walks through these doors, they won’t just find a place to live. They will find a place to rebuild, to belong, and to believe in their future again. If we do our job right, they will leave knowing one thing — their service mattered, their life matters, and their future still belongs to them,” said ACR Executive Director Nick Koury.