TESTIMONY
Dr. Anne Gentry Terrell on Supporting Veterans' Mental Health Through the Cohen Military Family Center
1:45:13
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3 min
Dr. Anne Gentry Terrell testifies on the effectiveness of the Cohen Military Family Center at NYU in providing mental health services to veterans and their families.
- Testimony highlights the center's role in filling a service gap for veterans, offering free mental health treatments including for substance use disorders.
- The center has aided over 4,000 veterans and family members, emphasizing the need for public-private partnerships.
- Calls for honoring veterans from all eras and significant for NYC Council's support in extending services.
- Terrell emphasizes the growing demand for mental health services among veterans, pointing to a waitlist for the traumatic brain injury program funded by the City Council.
- Urges further investment to increase support services for veterans and their families, underscoring ongoing demand challenges.
Anne Gentry Torell
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I'm actually representative in NYU.
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So hopefully, I can answer some of those questions.
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But good morning, Gerry Holden, and members of the committee on veterans.
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Thank you for holding the hearing today and for the opportunity to testify.
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I'm Doctor Anne Gentry Terrell, clinical psychologist and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry NYU Langhorne Health.
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I'm testifying today on behalf of the Cohen Military Family Center at NYU.
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Our center was established just over 11 years ago fill a well documented gap in services available to veterans and their families.
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The military family center provides free mental treatment for veterans and their families regardless of discharge status, who are experiencing the long term effects of military service.
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This also includes treatment for co occurring substances and mental health disorders.
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Since inception, our center has served 4077 veterans and their family members.
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To reach veterans who are ineligible for carel swear or who may be disconnected from mental health services.
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We have developed strong partnerships with the VA, the Department of Veterans Services, and many other organizations.
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The sheer number of individuals served demonstrates the necessity for public private partnerships in order to meet the needs of the veterans and their families in our community.
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Central to the mission of the military family center is decreasing barriers to high quality evidence based care for our nation's military families.
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While the center was originally established to meet the needs of the growing number of post 911 veterans seeking mental health services, we consistently receiver from veterans and family members of all areas who continue to be affected.
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In an attempt to honor our mission, we extend our resources to meet these needs.
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All too often, we have seen well intention new missions that sometimes minimize the impact of veterans of prior wars.
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Thus, we believe it is essential to honor our World War 2 Korean war and Cold war veteran as is described in these resolutions.
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We applaud the New York City Council Committee on Veterans for supporting this legislation towards equity for veterans of all eras.
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To ensure they are acknowledged for their work and sacrifices.
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This acknowledgment can often enhance a sense of meaning amongst life, which we know has a positive impact on mental health.
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Veterans and their family members are seeking mental health services at a higher rate than ever before, and this sharp increase in demand for our services has resulted in struggles to meet the demand and ultimately a wait list for services.
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For example, we currently have a wait list for our city council funded traumatic brain injury program.
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The funding from the MSTAL Health Services for Veterans Initiative remains the sole source of funding for our centers TBI program.
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And this program provides much needed evaluation and rehabilitation services for veterans with TBI.
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Many of whom struggle with co occurring substance use disorders.
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Our center is equipped to work together with the community to address the ever growing needs of veterans and their families.
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We hope the council will further invest in the veteran population, and we urge the council to consider further supplementing city wide capacity to meet the ongoing demand for support services for veterans.
1:48:09
Thank you again for the council's pass funding for the military family center and the opportunity to testify today.
