Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino joined Sens. David Carlucci, Greg Ball and Lee Zeldin and members of various veterans groups yesterday to announce funding for the expansion of the PFC Joseph Dwyer PTSD Peer-to-Peer Veterans Counseling program to Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties.
The continuation and expansion of this program, which provides counseling between veterans who understand the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, was approved as part of the 2013-14 state budget.
"Westchester needs to do everything it can to help our veterans get the care they need," said Astorino at the American Legion Post 506 in Ossining. "We look forward to working with the state to get this new program started in Westchester. I commend Senators Zeldin, Carlucci and Ball for their dedication to our veterans who served our country selflessly and courageously."
The program is named after PFC Joseph Dwyer, an Army soldier from New York who enlisted following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and took his own life after returning home from Iraq. Dwyer suffered from PTSD, which is a mental health disorder that can result when someone experiences a traumatic event like war, assault or disaster. Federal Veterans Administration statistics show that up to 20 percent of Iraq and Afghan war veterans, 10 percent of Gulf War (Desert Storm), and 30 percent of Vietnam veterans experience PTSD.
Astorino also commended Vito Pinto, the director of Westchester County's Veterans Service Agency (VSA), for the work his team does every day to support the county's veterans. Veterans and their family members who are interested in the peer-to-peer counseling program are encouraged to contact the VSA at (914) 995-2145 to stay informed of when the program will launch and how to become involved.