Relates to the performance of a study regarding homeless persons who are veterans in the state of New York

8 Co-sponsors

• Joseph P. Addabbo Jr.
• Tony Avella
• Neil D. Breslin
• Adriano Espaillat
• George Latimer
• Velmanette Montgomery
• Bill Perkins
• John L. Sampson

BILL NUMBER:S908C

Title of bill

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to the performance of a study regarding homeless persons who are veterans in the state of New York

Purpose

To address the alarming trend of homeless persons are veterans and parents.

Summary of specific provisions

Section I amends section 353 of the executive law by adding new subdivision 6-a concerning the performance of a study conducted by the New York State Division of Veterans' Affairs, the Office of Temporary and Disability Service, Department of Labor and the Office of Children and Family Services to determine the number of homeless persons in New York State who are veterans. It will also determine the number of offspring of the veterans and current placement, and whether such veterans suffered military sexual trauma. Once the study is completed a written report will be delivered to the governor and the legislature.

Section II sets forth the effective date.

Justification

A report released in 2013 by The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that 57,849 veterans are homeless on any given night. This number is likely to increase given the amount of veterans who are struggling with excessive economic burdens. Veterans, especially those with disabilities including post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries, are more likely to become homeless. Often a higher percentage of veterans returning from the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq demonstrate these characteristics.

In 2009, homeless veterans were mostly male while 4 percent were female. Today, the United States Government Accountability Office reports that women veterans identified as homeless by the VA increased more than 140 percent, from 1,350 in fiscal year 2006 to 3,328 in fiscal year 2010. Women veterans are also 4 times more likely than their male .counterparts to end up homeless. Homeless female veterans who are single mothers have a tough time finding adequate shelter, daycare services, and finding gainful employment. About 3,000 of these veterans could not access shelter and one-third had some sort of disability. These statistics are alarming and become even more distressing when you take into account that many of these women have children. The study and analysis would gather information on the number of homeless veterans in New York and how many of them have children.

Further, the study would include cases of military sexual trauma (MST) experienced by homeless veterans while on active duty or during military training, including a breakdown of the collected data based upon the gender of the victim. Data from the VA reveals that when

veterans are screened for health care and asked if he or she has experienced MST, approximately 1 in 4 women and 1 in 100 men respond saying that they have. The amount of veterans who have experienced MST is unknown given that this screening program reveals data relevant to veterans who have sought out health care provided by the VA. The outcome from this study would produce recommendations and solutions to combat the growing problems among the men and women who have served our country.

Legislative history

2013: S908 (Parker) - Veterans Affairs 2013: A7259 (Bozic) - Veterans Affairs

Fiscal impact on state

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after the bill shall become law.