Launch of the Dwyer veterans program in Greene | Greene County

The program, which has been in place in counties across the state including Columbia County since 2019, was established in 2012 to allow other veterans to come together and support their comrades in need.

In the 2022-23 state budget passed in April, $185,000 was allocated to bring the program to Greene County, with total funding of $7.7 million to scale the initiative. of State.

“I fought to bring the Joseph P. Dwyer program to Greene County because this program is a model of life-saving veteran assistance,” State Senator Michelle Hinchey said in a statement. “Our local veterans – no matter what war they served in or what stage they are in their transition to civilian life – deserve to have strong local connections for peer-to-peer support. Our veterans have sacrificed everything for us, and it has been my honor to ensure this vital expansion of the program so that Greene County and communities across the state have the resources to care for their veterans and work to the elimination of the mental health stigma of veterans in general. Supporting our veterans is one of the most important jobs we can do as a state, and I will never stop fighting to expand services for veterans and advance legislation that uplifts them and their families.

Greene County will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the Vet2Vet program on September 27 at 2 p.m. at the back entrance of the county building in Cairo.

Greene County Veterans Services Agency Director Michelle Romalin Deyo said Tuesday that the program, which was founded in Dwyer’s honor after he died of a drug overdose in 2008 after his return from the war in Iraq, can help veterans in need by connecting them with fellow soldiers.

“It saves lives,” Deyo said. “These types of programs are essential to getting your veterans to speak up and come out of their shells. We have so many veterans who have had terrible experiences that they just don’t talk about. This stuff festers inside of you and you just aren’t whole. By implementing a program like this where people feel safe and where they go out and maybe build a kayak or go on a camping trip or a fishing trip or even take a walk or come to the new facility and have a cup of coffee. It just paves the way for those veterans to meet people who may feel the same as them or have gone through the same experiences as them. They open up and talk, and once they open up, that’s how we solve the problem.

The program uses the peer-to-peer model to help veterans transition from military service to civilian life, as some face challenges related to post-traumatic stress disorder, which Dwyer suffered from before his death.

“We are extremely grateful to Senator Hinchey and everyone who advocated on our behalf to expand the Joseph Dwyer Peer Support Program statewide and to counties like Greene for the first time,” said said Kevin Keaveny, president of the Hudson Valley Center for Veteran Reintegration. in a report. “This program literally saves the lives of veterans and their families and is needed more than ever as veterans struggle to transition to civilian life during the pandemic. This funding will allow us to continue our essential outreach and support work to serve veterans who have served our country.

Greene County veterans interested in joining the local Dwyer Program Chapter can contact Program Manager Arin Vandemark at arin.vandemark@hvncvr.org or by calling the office at 518-719-0020.