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Vets deserve much more than a parade.
Running for mayor of New York is a bruising, exhausting, sometimes humiliating process. Unfortunately, for more than 200,000 veterans in the city, so is filing for disability compensation at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
New York City is home to a shamefully large backlog of disability claims — one of the worst in America. More than 6,000 claims are currently “backlogged” (pending for more than 125 days) and the average completion time is an abysmal 495 days. The federal government’s efforts to fix the problem have been painfully slow.
Yet we never heard about this during the primaries. Neither of the top nominees outlined how they would help end the backlog or otherwise improve services to those who have served their country. Only Speaker Christine Quinn presented a veterans platform.
The shameful VA backlog isn’t the only issue affecting veterans and military families in our city. The unemployment for vets is 6% in New York State, and 9.2% for post-9/11 vets. Too many are in prison. Thousands are homeless. And nationwide, 22 veterans (among vets of all ages) commit suicide every day.
After Hurricane Sandy, the VA hospital in Manhattan was under water and shut down for months. All winter, veterans who used the hospital — many of whom served in World War II — were forced to travel into Brooklyn and the Bronx to receive the crucial services and treatment they earned. The facility only returned to full capacity in July and is frequently the subject of closing rumors.
More than 10,000 National Guardsmen live and serve in New York State. We are the ones who stand guard late at night in Grand Central and Penn Station, on Thanksgiving at the airports, and in the cold at our bridges and tunnels. We need to hear how the candidates would ensure we are properly utilized and protected as part of plans to keep our city safe.
And now, veterans are being hurt by the government shutdown. Those who transitioned to work for the federal government are being furloughed, progress has been halted on the VA backlog and folks receiving disability and G.I. Bill benefits don’t know if they’ll get their next check.
But it’s not all bad news.
More than 17,000 veterans in the state currently use the post-9/11 G.I. Bill. Tens of thousands have graduated using the benefits. Schools like CUNY and Columbia have led the nation in recruiting young veterans and creating best-in-class support programs. And last year, Columbia finally brought ROTC back to campus.
Innovative Veterans Treatment Courts launched in Brooklyn and Queens. The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum sits proudly on the West Side as a globally recognized model for education and remembrance. And this November, New York City will again host the largest Veterans Day Parade in America.
http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info/?p=15151
via Great Local News: New York http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info
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