STANDING UP FOR VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES

I was proud to join several of my Senate colleagues recently to call for increased state funding to support the expansion of a groundbreaking treatment program for military servicemen and servicewomen suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) -- a program known as the Research & Recognition Project.

I'm equally proud that the Senate this week included funding for the project in our Budget Resolution -- a document that sets the stage for final budget talks with Governor Cuomo and the Assembly leadership.

The project’s Executive Director is Dr. Frank J. Bourke of Corning (shown at the far right in the photo above), a clinical psychologist with more than three decades of experience in the field.  O’Mara said that he’s worked with Bourke over the past several years to help advance and promote the Research & Recognition Project in support of veterans and military families.

It’s a debilitating illness severely impacting the lives of thousands of our brave men and women returning from the battlefield. I think we have a duty and a responsibility to do whatever is possible to provide our military men and women with treatments that can help them overcome the harrowing effects of PTSD and regain a healthy and productive life.  I’m a believer in this program. 

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