Report: Other Suggested Initiatives

Outside of the previously mentioned initiatives and suggestions, respondents offered the suggestions listed below.

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Report: A Marine's Story

An anonymous respondent[1] wrote his personal story in the comments section of the survey. The intent of this report is to give veterans a voice, and all comments related to the content of the survey have been included here. This Marine’s story is included below to allow him a public voice, and to inform readers about this and similar struggles that many NYC veterans face.

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Mayor de Blasio: Some Vets More Equal Than Others

Yesterday--perhaps to save face from the embarrassment of his otherwise complete reversal--Mayor de Blasio issued a deceptive Memorandum in Support of NY State Assembly bill A.6543, which proposes to amend the current and unfair pension "buyback" credit system for state and municipal employees to only add veterans of the war in Afghanistan to the long and convoluted eligibility criteria for this earned benefit.

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Mayor de Blasio's Reversal on the Veterans Equality Act

Mayor de Blasio seems to think that veterans are too expensive to receive the benefits they've earned. Today we learned that he has issued yet another Memorandum of Opposition to the Veterans Equality Act--this, after he held a special press event just before Memorial Day to announce that this time he would support it. Which is it, Mr. Mayor?

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Stop the Closure of 12 West at the Brooklyn VA Medical Center on July 1

Time is short, so we have to act quickly.

Please do the following as soon as possible:

  1. Sign our petition of the Obama administration.
  2. Contact Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand.
  3. Contact your Representative in Congress.

We need to let our representatives in Washington, D.C., know that IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE to reduce access to inpatient hospitalization for New York City's veterans for the simple reason that veterans' healthcare is too expensive. Please make your voice heard and demand that the Veterans Health Administration NOT close 12 West at the Brooklyn VAMC on July 1. The VHA must seek other outcomes and solutions that do not limit access to healthcare for veterans who choose the Brooklyn VAMC as their local and preferred healthcare facility.

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Remarks at City Hall: NYC Veterans Alliance Stands with the Public Advocate

Earlier today we joined NYC Public Advocate Letitia "Tish" James, Paul Rieckhoff and members of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and other veterans and veteran advocates at City Hall to call on Mayor de Blasio to support the proper resourcing of veterans affairs for NYC. Our delivered remarks were abbreviated due to time constraints, but below are the full prepared remarks for today's event:

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Testimony on PTSD Awareness

On June 16, Kristen L. Rouse testified at the City Council Veterans Committee hearing on a proposed resolution to recognize the month of June as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month in New York City, which parallels a U.S. Senate resolution recognizing the same nationally. Last week we stood with Veterans Committee Chair Eric Ulrich, MOVA Commissioner Loree Sutton, and veteran leaders and advocates on the steps of City Hall, united in the cause of supporting this important resolution. We further offered the following testimony:

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"No Veteran Should Ever Feel Alone with PTSD"

Yesterday we stood together at City Hall for the cause of PTSD awareness. Council Member Eric Ulrich, who chairs the City Council Veterans Committee, has introduced a resolution declaring June as PTSD awareness month for the city, which parallels a U.S. Senate resolution recognizing the same nationally.
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Memorial Day and Mayor de Blasio’s Missed Opportunities

On Memorial Day, many of us took time out to remember fallen comrades and the many more we lost later to the physical and mental injuries that followed them from the battlefield. Whether we chose to attend a commemorative parade or ceremony, or decorate military graves, or reflect as we enjoyed time with friends and family—this was a holiday for collective remembrance. It then came as a surprise that the de Blasio administration would choose Memorial Day to run an op-ed in the NY Daily News stating for the first time that the administration explicitly does not support the creation of a Department of Veterans Affairs for NYC.

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Response to Mayor de Blasio's Veterans Press Event

Last night we were pleased to see the Mayor’s office press release saying he will meet this morning for the first time since taking office eighteen months ago with the city’s Veterans Advisory Board along with senior military leaders in honor of Fleet Week and Memorial Day. This is a positive first step toward bridging the divide between Mayor de Blasio and the 220,000+ veterans and the 250,000 more spouses, dependents, and other family members of veterans who reside in NYC.

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