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AGENCY TESTIMONY
Charter-mandated areas and services provided by DVS
0:15:58
ยท
6 min
Commissioner Hendon details the charter-mandated tasks of DVS and how the agency addresses each area through various programs and initiatives.
- Six charter-mandated areas: housing, health care, benefits, culture, education, and employment
- Overview of specific programs in each area, including health initiatives, housing support, VA claims assistance, and educational partnerships
- Introduction of the Joseph P. Dwyer Veterans Peer Support Program
James Hendon
0:15:58
To structure, speaking of the city charter, our charter mandated task according to chapter 75, section thirty one zero two of the New York City charter is to assist and inform veteran military families in the areas of housing, health care, benefits, culture, education, and employment.
0:16:14
I think of our work through multiple prisms, I'm gonna speak to how we are arrayed in terms of those contexts.
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When you exclude the headquarters, think of DVS as two sides of a coin.
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One side involves internal operations of our annual agency, the other side deals with veteran services, the client facing component.
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There are 39 positions authorized for DVS, thirty four of those slots are currently filled.
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We're on track to fill four more slots in April and May.
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We thank ONB for those approvals.
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The fate of the thirty ninth slot, which was vacated last week by someone who was on protected leave, it hadn't been used recently prior to becoming available, is internally being discussed.
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We're optimistic about it being filled.
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Our goal is to reach 100% strength this calendar year.
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Out of the 34 people who are currently assigned to d to DVS, four are in headquarters, 20 fall on the services side of the coin and 10 fall on the operations side.
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Internal operations consists of the following functions, technology which includes IT, data analytics, tech support, and cybersecurity.
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Fiscal operations, which includes budgeting, procurement, the processing of payments, and technical assistance.
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Logistics, payroll and timekeeping, human resources, equal employment opportunity, and legal slash compliance.
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There are 10 people in internal operations.
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Many of those people perform multiple roles in order to account for the various functions and to ensure that we have depth and redundancy when necessary.
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The services side of 20 employees breaks down such that each charter mandated area is accounted for.
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Services can be seen through the lenses of four functions, direct services, referrals, synergies, and communications.
0:17:48
Our direct services are housing, which employs seven DVS team members, VA claims which employs six team members, and indigent burials which employs one part time member who does not count against DVS's headcount.
0:18:02
This is the only person who serves as an ancillary staff member in this way.
0:18:05
This is courtesy of NYC Agents Silver Star program.
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We thank NYC Aging for its partnership.
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All in our agency are able to make referrals and most often do.
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That said, the referral coordination process is led by one member of our agency, our executive director for mental health and care coordination.
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One team member has overall responsibility for referrals.
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The synergies unit, those who can coordinate with partners enabling DVS to deliver offerings where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, making one plus one equals three, has four team members.
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Communications, which has two team members, works lockstep with our direct services, synergies, and referrals arms to amplify our offerings and tell the DVS story.
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Now to charter mandated areas.
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By charter area, our housing team covers housing, our claims team and barrels coordinator cover benefits, our synergies team covers education, employment, and culture, and all teams directly and indirectly cover health.
0:19:03
Housing and claims approach health through the lens of access and lack of access to VA health care.
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Synergies and referrals approach health through the context of mental health, wellness, and food insecurity.
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When one looks at our agency's performance in the charter mandated areas, things done by our services team as undergirded by internal operations, much of our work by charter area follows.
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For health care, the Veterans Mental Health Coalition, veteran feeding program, Get Covered NYC Vet, and Mission VetCheck.
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Details can be found at nyc.gov/vethealth, n y c Gov / vet food, n y c Gov / covered n y c vet, and nyc.gov/vetcheck.
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For housing, helping veterans take a step up wherever they are on the housing ladder from emergency housing to supportive housing to affordable housing to homeownership.
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More information is available at nyc.gov/vethousing and nyc.gov/vetladder.
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For benefits, VA claim support, indigent burial support, and recur and recurring veteran and military family summits.
0:20:04
Details can be found at nyc.gov/vetclaims, n y c Gov / vet burials, and nyc.gov/vetsummit.
0:20:12
Please note the next veteran military family summit will be held at Citi Field on Saturday, May 3.
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There will be an emphasis on employment, housing, mental health, and access to VA services.
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For education, it's our veterans on campus network which is in partnership with city based institutions of higher learning, the military family advocate program, also known as MFA, in partnership with NYC schools.
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Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps also in partnership with NYC schools.
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Most details can be found online at nyc.gov/vetstudents, n y c Gov / vet parents, and nyc.gov/vetmfa.
0:20:45
Employment.
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Please note that employment includes entrepreneurship.
0:20:49
It includes the veteran business leadership association, VBLA, Vet BizMap, veteran street vendor liaison support, edge for vets and vet jobs.
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Details can be found at nyc.gov/vbla, n y c Gov / vet vendor, n y c Gov / vet biz map, n y c Gov / vet business, and nyc.gov/vetjobs.
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Culture.
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Culture breaks into two categories, one time efforts and enduring activities.
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Examples of one time efforts include, but are not limited to, erecting a memorial honoring New York City's post nine eleven war veterans and their loved ones.
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Details can be found at nyc.gov/vetmemorial.
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Another example is ensuring that VA memorial markers are erected for all 36 New York City Vietnam War veterans who are still missing in action and unaccounted for.
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Enduring cultural activities include Our Veterans NYC, a veteran community calendar maintained by the Bob Woodruff Foundation in partnership with DVS.
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The website is ourveterans.nyc.
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Recurring New York City Veteran community community commemorations and activities, the veteran voices project, and the City Of New York's administration of the private first class Joseph p Dwyer veterans peer support program.
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Details are available at nyc.gov/vetvoices and nyc.gov/vetdwyer.
0:22:00
Also, there's our veterans.nyc.