Axiom Care and McCain Family celebrate the Opening of the John McCain Veterans Center

Axiom Care, a Phoenix based provider of behavioral health and recovery housing since 2012, is pleased to announce the opening of the John McCain Veterans Center, a 60-bed transitional housing program designed to serve veterans navigating challenges related to substance use disorders, mental health conditions, trauma and homelessness.

The center is located on the campus of Victory Place, a 200-apartment Veteran-focused affordable housing community established in 2001 by Cloudbreak Communities. At a ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 11 were United States Marine Corps Veteran Jim McCain and his mother Ambassador Cindy McCain, wife of the late U.S. Senator John McCain.

The partnership between Axiom Care, nonprofit Axiom Community of Recovery and Cloudbreak Communities Victory Place is the first step in a collective vision to combine short-term recovery services with long-term accessible and affordable housing, and follow-up outpatient supports geared toward the unique needs of veterans. It’s not enough to provide four walls, we must provide community.

“Anyone who has worn the uniform knows that when you serve, you become part of something bigger than yourself. You have a mission, you have your brothers and sisters beside you, and you have a very clear purpose. But, when the uniform comes off, that clarity can disappear. For many veterans, the transition from civilian life to service, and back 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 John McCain Veterans 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 Axiom Care’s 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.

 

“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.”

 

“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. “It represents stability for someone who has lost it, dignity for people who have been forgotten, and a path forward for veterans who are ready to rebuild their lives.”

“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.

“When you hear the word service, as Arizonans and Americans, one family immediately comes to mind, the McCain family,” said Governor Ducey. “John McCain embodied that word throughout his life, from his service in Vietnam to decades in the United States Senate, he lived by a simple but powerful ideal of putting country first. What makes the McCain story so remarkable is that John’s commitment to service did not end with him. Cindy and their children have carried that legacy forward with the same dedication and sense of purpose, when it comes to committing something bigger than oneself. I have been very fortunate in my own life and career to know John McCain, to work alongside Cindy McCain and to see their children continuing that tradition of service. The John McCain Veterans Center is another important chapter in that story.”

“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. Our vision for Axiom Care began in 2012 with a simple but urgent mission to make compassionate and effective recovery care available to all Arizonans, especially those who are often left behind. My background as a social worker helped shape who we are today, dignity centered, evidence-based and focused on long term recovery.”

Support services provided by nonprofit partner, Axiom Community of Recovery (ACR), 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.

In closing, Jim McCain quoted his father, “Americans never quit, we never surrender, we never we never hide from history, we make history,” and continued, “So, for those of you, the Veterans who have already proven you know how to fight, sometimes the next fight is simply rebuilding your life. Go and make your history.”

 

To learn more, visit https://www.axiomcareofaz.com/victory-place