Senator John E. Brooks Secures Funding for The Dwyer Project and Other Veterans Programs

(Albany, NY) Senator John E. Brooks (SD-8), together with the Senate Majority, secured full funding for the The PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Veterans Peer Support Project and their mission to provide peer-to-peer support and counseling to veterans and their families through programs, projects, and education in order to promote mental wellness, camaraderie, and purpose.  Not only was its annual budget of $3.735M restored, but an additional $300,000 was granted for an expansion of the program into NYC.

“These are heroes helping heroes,” says Senator Brooks. “This is a program that enables veterans with knowledge and understanding of issues like PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), depression, and substance abuse to meet with and counsel veterans who are suffering from one, or several, of these afflictions as a result of their service to our country.”

Himself a veteran, Senator Brooks is also the Chairman of the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security, and Military Affairs and is uniquely capable of understanding the impending need to secure continued support for important programs such as the Dwyer Project, and has spent the last several months leading the drive to ensure its execution as his top priority. 

“The Dwyer Project is more than just treatment and programs, it has become a community of service and an extended family for many who otherwise would be unable to cope with their struggles;” says Brent Russell, Program Coordinator of the Nassau/Suffolk chapters.  “We are grateful to Senator Brooks for his leadership on this issue as well as his unceasing dedication to veterans in general.  We look forward to continuing our efforts together and have been proud to stand by him throughout this process.”

In addition to the Dwyer Project, funding for several other veterans programs fared well. The Legislature faced a budget shortfall this year of $2.3B with the legislature having $125M less than last year to restore legislative initiatives. Despite this challenge, the legislature managed to restore almost every veterans’ service program.

Restored

SAGE Veterans Project                  $50,000    

NYS Veterans Defenders               $720,000  

Legal Services of HV Vets             $200,000  

Veterans of Foreign Wars             $125,000   

Veterans Outreach of Monroe    $250,000     

Helmets-to-Hardhats                     $100,000   

American Legion Boys State       $150,000   

The Dwyer Program                       $3.735M    - Restored and Expanded to NYC - $300,000

"Securing this financing sends a clear message to veterans across the state that their service to our nation is not forgotten, nor will it be. We in the Senate majority will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that treatments and services remain available and accessible to all whose service we’ve come to rely upon,” Senator Brooks concluded.