November 27, 2012

Battle Buddy Centers Continue to Grow

With the recent celebration of Veterans' Day, it's fitting that NYSID has participated in the opening of two new Battle Buddy Centers, at Fedcap Rehabilitation Services in New York City and the Armed Forces Study Room on the campus of Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) in Troy. Battle Buddy Centers are safe havens for veterans to socialize with their fellow veterans and receive services they need.

NYSID partnered with Fedcap to open a Battle Buddy Center at its 19th Street location on November 19. The room serves as a free and welcoming haven for Post-9/11 veterans to gather with people who understand their situation. Managed by veteran participants, the Battle Buddy Center offers recreation, internet access and a resource library, as well as a safe place where camaraderie and support can be found and fostered.

http://www.fedcap.org/content/fedcap-and-nysid-open-nyc-battle-buddy-center

On November 15, NYSID partnered with The Altamont Program, Inc. to open a Battle Buddy Center at HVCC with the dedication of the Armed Forces Study Room. Named in memory of Staff Sergeant Derek Farley, the room provides a place of peace and intellectual enrichment for veterans, members of the armed forces and their families. The Armed Forces Study Room dedication was part of a day devoted to honoring veterans on the HVCC campus.

https://www.hvcc.edu/news_events/newsstory.php?id=7905

Last September, NYSID partnered with The Altamont Program, Inc. to support Clear Path for Veterans.

A private, non-profit organization in Chittenango, Clear Path is dedicated to helping military veterans and their families recover and reintegrate by offering a variety of support, training, vocational and recreational programs in a setting of natural beauty.

NYSID recognizes that creating employment opportunities for service disabled veterans and other New Yorkers with disabilities who face barriers to employment is not only the right thing to do, but it also improves our state's economy and strengthens our communities.

Be sure to visits NYSID's 'Our Veterans' link at http://www.nysid.org/Veterans.cfm for information on NYSID's quarterly Veterans' Summits and Battle Buddy Centers, and its Veterans Contact Directory, which lists veterans' service provider government agencies and not-for-profit organizations available in New York State counties.

As always, we thank we thank our member agencies and corporate partners for expanding veterans' outreach, employment opportunities and education initiatives as they reconnect to the New York State workforce. We salute our veterans for their patriotism and valor.