Veterans were honored and remembered on Oct. 3 as a former military general stepped down from a department focused on giving back to the nation’s protectors.
“Now it’s my pleasure to introduce the next commissioner for the Department of Veteran Services: Colonel James Hendon,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Since its start-up, New York City’s Department of Veteran Services has given back to more than 210,000 service members—housing, education, employment, and mental health.
Like James. A. Brown: once homeless, and now, through the program and help from his mentor, he’s found a studio and owns his own catering company.
“Sometimes my days are good, sometimes my days are bad, but I tell you what, there’s nothing like being able to take a key and stick in your own door,” said the NAVY veteran.
Since 2014, there’s been a 97% drop in veteran homelessness, but both the new and former commissioners said there’s more work to be done.
“It is 2019, I’m telling you, our potential is not yet tapped,” said Hendon.
“Let’s continue to keep our eyes on the prize; service is our north star,” said the now-former Commissioner Loree Sutton.
Mayor de Blasio commended Sutton’s efforts in aiding vets with PTSD through the department—something he said plagued his own father.
“For a lot of soldiers—sailors, airmen, a lot of families—the war doesn’t end,” said the mayor. “It stays with them their whole life.”
He added that although there is much to celebrate, he hopes one day the program will no longer be needed.
