Good afternoon and welcome to the New York City Council hearing for the Committee on Veterans joined with a Committee on Mental Health on Substance Use.

Anyone wishing to testify or have any questions, please see one of the sergeant at arms going forward, no one is the approach today.

Good afternoon.

I am Councilmember Frank Morano.

I have the privilege of being the chair of the Committee on Veterans.

Thank you for joining us today for our oversight hearing with the Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse.

And you will hear from their distinguished chairperson in just a moment.

And I'm very, very much looking forward to today's hearing.

I I really can't say enough about the value that I think uh these hearings have had uh since I've been lucky enough to chair this committee.

You know, uh New Yorkers, as many people know, are cynical.

And if possible, Staten Islanders that I represent can be the most cynical of a cynical group.

And uh oftentimes when it comes to the public and quite frankly, even a lot of legislators, there's a lot of head scratching about what these hearings actually accomplish.

I'm not necessarily talking about this committee, but any of these hearings in general.

There's uh the feeling that uh, in fact, I said this today multiple times.

There's the feeling that there's a lot of grandstanding politicians asking questions to a lot of stonewalling bureaucrats, and it's not necessarily clear what's being moved forward.

I really do think that the committee hearings that we've held have uh stood in stark contrast to that.

Not only the testimony that we've gotten from the administration, not only the reports that the committee has prepared, but the uh dynamic testimony from the public, including the public, by the way, who is occasionally uh critical of the work that this council's been doing on veterans' affairs.

Whether it's been the hearing that we had on post 911 veterans, whether it's been the hearings that we've had on uh LGBTQ plus veterans, whether it's been the round table that we did on uh veterans of color, whether it's been uh the hearing and associated round table that we've done on uh post-911 veterans or on female veterans.

Each of the each of those hearings has produced concrete legislation uh that I am looking forward to introducing.

In some cases, I have introduced, and uh I I think it really does lay the groundwork for actually improving the lives of the large number of veterans that live in New York City.

And I'm hopeful that uh this hearing that we're going to undertake today, which is not a very important issue, does that same thing.

Let's talk a little bit about some of the recent history that we're gonna be exploring today.

In October of 2024, these committees examine the city's efforts to support veterans and their families impacted by PTSD.

At that time, New York City's Department of Veteran Services highlighted its family outreach efforts, their mental health programs and resource navigation services, while local laws 37, 38, 39, and 40 of 2024 had just taken effect.

One spoiler alert for the public far too many city agencies are not in compliance with local law 37.

We're gonna find out who the biggest defenders are, and we're gonna find out what we're gonna do about why they're not in compliance.

But participation and data quality remain concerns.

So while veteran identification has improved, the city the city still lacks uh consistent data on whether veterans who request mental health services ultimately receive care, limiting uh the council's ability to assess service access and outcomes.

These gaps are especially important as veterans continue to face many of the same challenges as other New Yorkers, including housing instability, affordability pressures, bureaucratic barriers, and the stigma that's associated with seeking mental health support.

Now, uh let me tell you a little bit about the situation involving veterans in New York in terms of the numbers.

According to the U.S.

Department of Veterans Affairs, New York State ranks ninth in total veteran population.

In 2024, there were nearly 18 million veterans in the U.S.

and 637,542 residing in New York State, with about 122,700 living in New York City.

When we look at and explore the effects of military service on veteran psychological health, there are so many different aspects to look at.

And it's one of the reasons why I think veterans issues really affect the issues that every single city agency is deals deals with.

The impacts of military service on psychological health, as you might guess, are quite complex.

And as a result, veterans tend to suffer from substance and alcohol use and misuse, sexual trauma, behavioral health issues, and mental health disorders, including post traumatic stress disorders.

Now, what are the key barriers to mental health and substance use care among veterans in New York State?

Well, veterans in the state continue to experience significant unmet mental health and substance use treatment needs, despite high rates of health insurance coverage and access to VA benefits.

Think about that.

Even when people have insurance and are covered, they're still having difficulty for whatever reason, either accessing or taking advantage of the benefits that they're legally entitled to and that the taxpayers are paying for them to receive.

This gap in treatment is due to a lot of challenges, including difficulty navigating the behavioral health system and understanding available benefits, negative stigma in some quarters towards treatment, uh, geographic and logistical barriers, and increasing need for equity and cross-cultural competency training to better identify the needs of female veterans, LGBTQ plus veterans, and veterans from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds.

Now, with all that in mind, we have heard a great deal of late uh about VetConnect NYC.

Veterans, advocates, and nonprofit providers, and city council members have regularly raised concerns about the VECT uh Vet Connect NYC portal site since its inception in 2018.

Uh users uh continue to face difficulties accessing and navigating the portal, reaching agency staff and caseworkers, and a lack of follow-up after seeking services, which has contributed to delayed access to services, including mental health services.

And uh that was spelled out recently in a report by the New York City controller Mark Levine.

In addition to our oversight topic today, we're going to be hearing about resolution number 493, which is sponsored by Councilmember Ariola, which would declare uh April 7th as White Star Family Day in the City of New York.

Uh now, because we do not uh Councilmember Ariola just messaged me that uh she actually doesn't have a link to log on, but uh she did send me this statement to read on her behalf about resolution uh 493.

Uh, she says resolution 493 addresses an important gap in how we recognize families who have lost a service member or veteran to suicide.

White star families carry a loss that is often deeply painful, and unlike gold star families, they currently have no formal designation or official recognition specifically acknowledging their service.

This resolution is about making sure these families aren't overlooked and that their loss is recognized with the dignity and respect it deserves.

Our veterans and service members dedicate themselves to protecting our country and our commitment to them should not end when their service ends.

We must also recognize and support the families who are left behind, particularly those facing the unique grief stigma and challenges associated with suicide loss.

By declaring April 7th as White Star Family Day in New York City, we are taking a meaningful step towards bringing greater awareness to veteran suicide and ensuring that the families affected by it know uh that their loss has not been forgotten.

I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing these families and supporting resolution 493.

Now, I want to acknowledge my colleagues on uh both committees who are here today, the man who I believe still has perfect committee attendance or pretty close to it.

Uh the distinguished council member from Queens, Phil Wong, is here, as well as uh Councilmember Aldeball from the Boogie Down Bronx is here as well.

Uh before I conclude, I want I would like to acknowledge uh Councilmember Caban, the chair of the Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse, for working with me on this oversight hearing.

Uh she recognizes as much as I do how crucial it is to address the mental health issues veterans face and the barriers to treatment that many still experience.