Senator Parker Announces Veterans Package -- Better Treatment For NY Veterans

(Albany, NY) Senator Kevin Parker (D- Brooklyn) announced his veterans legislative package consisting of four bills addressing post-service homelessness, sexual trauma, substance and alcohol abuse, mental stigma, unclaimed remains, and job credits.

As has been determined by Senator Gillibrand in her hearings on Military Sexual Trauma, more than 85,000 veterans in 2012 were treated for injuries or illness stemming from sexual abuse in the military. Additionally, the number of service members who anonymously reported some form of unwanted sexual contact rose from 19,300 in 2011 to roughly 26,000 last year. This horrific epidemic of abuse needs to be addressed immediately, as the Pentagon has acknowledged.

“New York does not abandon our service women and men when they come home, yet there is much more we can do. This legislative package is meant to help our service men and women suffering from PTSD and military sexual trauma, and also those men and women who are facing the scourge of substance abuse, and homeless. Our veterans served when we needed them, and we will be there for them now when they need us,” said Senator Parker.

• S.909 Parker/A.6227 Fahy -- Relates to the development of plans to adequately address military sexual trauma experienced by female veterans.
• S.910 Parker/A.1374 Cymbrowitz -- Defines the scope of responsibilities of the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services regarding recovery services for veterans.
• S.908 Parker/A7259 Rozic -- Relates to the performance of a study regarding homeless women who are veterans in the state of New York.
• S.1464 Parker/A.1965 Cymbrowitz -- Creates mental illness and chemical dependence initiative.
• S.1615A Parker -- Allows cemetery corporations to grant qualified veterans’ organizations the right to receive the cremains of a veteran which has not been claimed by a relative or friend of the deceased within 180 days after cremation.
• S.3092 Parker -- Provides that every person who has served in more than one time of war shall be entitled to additional credit as a veteran or disabled veteran in competitive examinations for original appointment or promotion for every such time of war.

“The pain suffered by these service members, who volunteered to serve our country, has been excruciating not only for these veterans, but for their families as well. This bill will be an important step forward in providing the services and treatment for those who have suffered from military sexual trauma,” said Assemblymember Fahy.

About Senator Kevin Parker

Senator Kevin S. Parker is intimately familiar with the needs of his ethnically diverse Brooklyn community that consists of 318,000 constituents in Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, Windsor Terrace, and Park Slope. He is the Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee and the Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Assistant Democratic Leader for Intergovernmental Affairs, and Chair of the Democratic Task Force on New Americans.