The State Senate passed legislation sponsored by Senator Larkin to help County veterans.
Kingston, NY - After proudly serving our Country, veterans are often faced with challenges and obstacles upon return to civilian life. As a result, some veterans are ending up homeless and in need of assistance. County Executive Mike Hein has been strongly advocating in Albany for New York State legislation to address veterans’ needs and provide a single location where Ulster County’s homeless veterans can live with their peers on a transitional basis and have direct access to support services. Yesterday, the New York State Senate unanimously voted to pass this legislation. Next, the bill will go before the New York State Assembly for consideration.
“I would like to thank State Senators Larkin and Bonacic for their unwavering support of this plan to help Ulster County’s homeless veterans. They have sacrificed so much in order to protect our freedoms and liberty,” said County Executive Hein. “I believe that we owe our veterans a tremendous debt of gratitude for their service and this legislation would help the County provide the enhanced level of assistance they need and deserve.”
This legislation, S.7405 sponsored by Senator William Larkin and A.10516 sponsored by Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, would authorize the Commissioner of the Office of General Services to transfer a New York State-owned home at 67 Wurts Street in Kingston, NY to Ulster County for the purposes of providing transitional housing and other related support services to our County’s veterans. The cost to Ulster County would be $1.
According to the Ulster County Veterans’ Service Agency statistics, there are approximately 6-10 Ulster County veterans at any given time seeking emergency housing assistance. Additionally, there are others in need of assistance who are reluctant to apply for help. This property is in close proximity to other government services and public transportation. It was previously used by Ulster-Greene ARC as a group home and has the space and amenities to support the needs. The property also stands directly across from Thomas Cornell Park, which has a Veterans’ memorial.
