Funding Area: Veterans’ Health

New York State is home to nearly 600,000 veterans, with more than 4,000 transitioning from active duty to civilian life each year. Many face medical, psychological, and social challenges, including social isolation, loneliness, and financial stressors. Veterans often do not ask for help until a crisis occurs; they may be reluctant to speak with someone they believe will not understand their circumstances. Veterans are often more willing to open up to a fellow veteran who better understands their experiences, which makes peer-to-peer programs an effective approach as a complement to clinical treatments. In 2022, NYHealth awarded Syracuse University, Institute for Veterans and Military Families a grant to expand the Dwyer Program across the State and help it implement best practices to better support veterans. In 2025, NYHealth awarded the Dwyer Coalition for Military Veterans & Families Inc. (Dwyer Coalition) a grant to continue to serve as a statewide platform for communication, advocacy, and capacity-building to strengthen veteran peer services and related programs.

Under this grant, the Dwyer Coalition will provide veteran peer mentors and other stakeholders across New York State with access to centralized information, training, and collaboration opportunities. It will strengthen its organizational capacity through consultant support, convene members to share best practices and receive expert guidance, and update its online resource directory to better connect Dwyer providers to programs, referral partners, and veteran benefits. As the only statewide coalition representing veterans’ needs, the Dwyer Coalition will leverage its platform to advance priorities, including suicide prevention, mental health service capacity, the implementation of high-quality Veterans Treatment Courts, and the equitable allocation of veterans’ services and resources. This work will help refine advocacy, educate policymakers, support local organizing, and promote policy and regulatory changes that strengthen and sustain the Dwyer Program.

Justice-involved veterans often face a complex web of health, mental health, and other challenges, including legal issues, housing instability, unemployment, and social isolation.

Many struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorders, and other health conditions. They are almost twice as likely to attempt suicide compared to other veterans, and they have the highest suicide rates across all population groups. Justice-involved veterans require coordinated services to address their extensive needs. Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs) are a fundamental approach and provide an alternative to incarceration for eligible veterans with mental health and/or substance use disorders by connecting them to services including VA benefits, counseling, substance abuse treatment, peer mentorship, and legal support. In 2024, NYHealth awarded the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic (VLC) at Syracuse University’s College of Law a grant to provide comprehensive legal services to Veterans Treatment Court participants in New York State to increase their likelihood of success in treatment. In 2025, NYHealth awarded Albany Law School a grant to expand case management for justice-involved veterans, ensuring access to wraparound health care and legal services. 

Under this grant, with co-funding from the New York State Department of Veterans’ Services (DVS), Albany Law School will develop and deliver an advanced training program for Veterans Service Officers, including a credit option for a graduate-level Advanced Certificate, in coordination with DVS to enroll eligible participants. It will deliver trainings across New York State and distribute a survey to evaluate effectiveness.   

NYHealth is also supporting a complementary initiative with Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic at Syracuse University’s College of Law. 

Justice-involved veterans often face a complex web of health, mental health, and other challenges, including legal issues, housing instability, unemployment, and social isolation. Many struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorders, and other health conditions. They are almost twice as likely to attempt suicide compared to other veterans, and they have the highest suicide rates across all population groups. Justice-involved veterans require coordinated services to address their extensive needs. Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs) are a fundamental approach and provide an alternative to incarceration for eligible veterans with mental health and/or substance use disorders by connecting them to services including VA benefits, counseling, substance use treatment, peer mentorship, and legal support. In 2024, NYHealth awarded the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic (VLC) at Syracuse University’s College of Law a grant to provide comprehensive legal services to VTC participants in New York State to increase their likelihood of success in treatment. In 2025, NYHealth awarded VLC a grant to expand case management for justice-involved veterans, ensuring access to wraparound health care and legal services. 

Under phase 2 of this grant, VLC will replicate and scale its case management model among other legal clinics across New York State. It will continue providing case management services to veterans in the Onondaga County VTC and health navigation to help veterans choose and access mental health services at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and in the community. It will partner with the University at Buffalo, Cornell University, and Hofstra University to replicate this model statewide and offer technical assistance. VLC will create a statewide referral network to connect legal clinics serving veterans with VTCs and other programs. It will also share resources, best practices, and track outcomes to refine and strengthen its case management playbook. 

NYHealth is also supporting a complementary initiative with Albany Law School.  

Veterans enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health system typically receive care at VA facilities.

However, when wait times are long, travel is difficult, or based on personal preference, veterans may access private-sector care through the VA Community Care Network—paid for by the VA. Over the past decade, the number of veterans receiving community-based care has grown significantly, fueled by changes in federal policy. Despite this growth, no comprehensive public data exists on the VA’s Community Care Network—nationally or at the state level. This lack of transparency makes it difficult for New York veterans and stakeholders to navigate through the system or fully assess the potential benefits and drawbacks of proposed policy changes. In 2025, NYHealth awarded a grant to the RAND Corporation to analyze how proposed federal policy changes that would expand reliance on private-sector care could affect access and health outcomes for veterans in New York State.

Under this grant, RAND will assess the current landscape of both VA-delivered and VA-purchased care; examine how a shift toward increased private-sector care could affect veterans statewide; create a dataset of VA care use; analyze trends in access and utilization; and share findings and recommendations with New York stakeholders. 

Two decades of major combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan heightened awareness of the invisible injuries of war, including PTSD, depression, substance misuse, and traumatic brain injury.

Recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 20th anniversary of 9/11, and the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan further exacerbated these challenges. Public and private partners have mobilized to meet veterans’ mental health needs. The federal government recently implemented the PACT Act—the largest benefits expansion in the history of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)—alongside a policy ensuring that every veteran can access VA or private care during acute suicidal crises. In 2024, NYHealth awarded The Headstrong Project a grant to provide high-quality, free, culturally competent mental health care to veterans statewide. 

Under this grant, the Headstrong Project will use its trauma-informed model to provide services using evidence-based PTSD treatment. Headstrong will leverage technology to conduct outreach and increase awareness of services in high-need areas throughout the State, with a focus on rural areas and minority populations; provide approximately 300 clinical sessions to veterans statewide; work with the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Center and the VA to maintain a strong referral network; and share best practices and recommendations to support a sustainable mental health service network throughout the State.  

Two decades of major combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan heightened awareness of the invisible injuries of war, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, substance misuse, and traumatic brain injury.

Recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 20th anniversary of 9/11, and the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan further exacerbated these challenges. Public and private partners have mobilized to meet veterans’ mental health needs. The federal government recently implemented the PACT Act—the largest benefits expansion in the history of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)—alongside a policy ensuring that every veteran can access VA or private care during acute suicidal crises. In 2024, NYHealth awarded the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Center (MFC) at New York University Langone a grant to provide high-quality, free, culturally competent mental health care to veterans statewide. 

Under this grant, MFC will build on its decade-plus expansion throughout New York to serve veterans currently on its waitlist and to those in under-resourced, hard-to-reach areas. MFC will conduct intake evaluations and suicide risk screenings, deliver mental health care to approximately 240 veterans, and connect clients with local VA and community providers to complement their treatment. Additionally, MFC will expand its training programs for pre-doctoral and post-doctoral psychology fellows to provide culturally competent care.