City Council - Veterans, Military Families, & Military Affairs Committee Hearing on Dockets #0722

Thanks for watching!

Thank you for watching!

and many more.

and many more.

Good morning. My name is Ed Flynn, District 2 City Councilor, Chair of the Boston City Council Committee on Veterans Services, Military Families, Military Affairs. Today is November 21st. The exact time is 10.01. The hearing is being recorded. It is being livestreamed at boston.gov, citycouncil-tv, broadcast on Xfinity, Channel 8, RCN. 82 Fios 964. Written comments may be sent to the committee email at ccc.vets at boston.gov and will be part of the record and available to all counselors. Public testimony will be taken at the end of this hearing. Individuals will be called on in order which they are signed up and will have, well, it says two minutes to testify, but I do want to give people testifying the opportunity

To not limit them, I want to ensure that they have the necessary time to make their point. If you are interested in testifying in person, please add your name to the sign-up sheet near the entrance of the chamber. If you are looking to testify virtually, please email our central staff liaison, shanepack at shane.pack at boston.gov for the link. Your name will be added to the list. Today's docket is on 0253, and it's in order for a hearing to discuss the goals and priorities of the City of Boston Office of Veterans Services. This matter was sponsored by myself, Councilor Flynn, Aaron Murphy, and was referred to the committee on January 15th. The second docket, 0722, it's a message in order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of $12,000

$881 in the form of a grant for the Jobs for Veterans State Grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor passed through the United States Department of Labor through the Mass Hire Department of Career Services to be administered by the Office of Workforce Development. The grant will fund enhanced employment training, services for eligible veterans, prioritizing disabled veterans, and those facing significant barriers to employment with the goal of improving their job search outcomes in economic self-sufficiency. The matter was sponsored by Mayor Wu, referred to the committee on April 2nd, 2025. Today, I am joined by my colleagues in order of arrival, City Councilor Erin Murphy and City Councilor Enrique Pepén. Thank you to both Councilors for being here.

I do have an absence letter from City Councilor Sharon Durkan. So since there are two dockets, I'm going to take the second docket first, actually, which is the docket relating to the federal grant. I'm going to provide opening comments. And then I'm going to give my colleagues an opportunity to provide opening comments as well. Then we'll go right into the administration panel that is here. and I do want to recognize them as well.

I would like to start off by thanking our panelists here today. Rob Santiago, who's the Commissioner, Veterans Services, Jared Estrada, and Joseph Lee. and Meredith Tewitt. I believe Meredith might be joining us virtually. The City of Boston Office of Veterans Services works closely with our veterans and military families to connect them to resources and services That they have earned. And they worked closely with city and state federal partners to empower and support veterans and military families. We have a diverse veterans community with Different needs. It's important to ensure that these services and resources are catered to the unique needs of different groups. such as appropriate counseling services for returning veterans.

Gender specific health care for our women veterans is critical. Respectful healthcare providers for our LGBTQ plus veterans is essential. Housing services for homeless veterans and at-risk veterans. Veterans and military families have proudly served our country and earned the benefits from our city, state, and federal government. A few years ago, the city of Boston, enacted a program to ensure that every veteran would have access to housing. And I know that's a commitment from previous mayors, and that's also a critical aspect of what we're doing here today.

Additionally, we have Joseph Lee, who I've worked with for many years, have great respect for Joseph. Joseph is the Chief of Staff of Worker Empowerment Cabinet. He's also here to discuss the $12,000 grant Enhanced Employment Services for Eligible Veterans prioritizing Disabled Veterans. It's critical that we work together to provide employment opportunities for our veterans. I'm going to stop there in my opening statement. I do want to acknowledge the City Council President, Luzzi Louijeune, is here. I want to give my colleagues an opportunity to provide an opening statement, starting with Council Murphy. Council Murphy, you're up.

Thank you. Thank you to the panelists who are here. Thank you for the work you do every day. I know we're going to take the grant docket first. It's a small dollar amount, but the conversation and the impact it has and the conversation we need to continue to have to support Workforce for our veterans is so important. So thank you, Councilor Flynn, for bringing this to a hearing and then also tying it together to just discuss the overall goals and priorities of What could be called, right, a very small but mighty department. You work with a small staff, not a big budget, but your needs always have been A lot, but as we continue coming out of COVID and housing costs rising and just the medical, mental, physical, dental needs of our veterans and housing needs and obviously workforce,

When someone has a path to a job, it's way more than just a paycheck. It's dignity. It's independence. It's no longer social isolation. It's feeling good about yourself. All those things when I've joined you at the standouts. or the events around the city, you can see that many of our veterans are in need of a lot of services. So thank you for what you do. Thank you for being a source, a resource to our families also. As the mother of a veteran who is just one quick story, I just want to shout out the Salvation Army. I don't know if you, Rob, or your team works with them, but... recently they had reached out I didn't realize that they're the ones who help support families if they need to come home in time of the need so just want to thank them for working so closely with our veterans and making sure that they can get the time they need and take a leave and

Thank you for all of those outside agencies that you work with and the money that we need to make sure we get to you the grants that support most of your funding is important so here to support and continue into the next year. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Murphy. I failed to mention Jared Estrada's title. He's the Deputy Commissioner, Office of Veterans Services. Good to be with you, Jared. City Council, Pepén, you're up next.

Thank you Mr. Chair and good morning everyone. Thank you so much for the Commissioner and the entire office for being here today. It's an honor to be part of this conversation to make sure that our veterans are getting the Supporting resources that they very much deserve across the city of Boston. I feel like a few of us were in the same room for three consecutive days during the Veterans Day weekend. Just very thankful for everything that you, Commissioner, do. I don't know, Councilor Flynn is a very strong advocate for veterans, so thank you so much for holding this hearing. I'm here to make sure that I am part of the conversations and see how I can support our veterans. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Pepén. Council President Louijeune.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for holding this hearing and for all you do, you and the vice chair, Councilor Murphy, all you do for our veterans here in the city of Boston. and I want to thank all of you Commissioner for all that you do for the city. Yeah there's a marathon few days where we're just seeing each other back to back and you have a great deputy who was there standing in for you where where you were unable to be present. And so I just want to thank all that you do. Thank you for all that you do, Joseph, all that you do, not only for our veterans, but for all of our communities that need assistance in the workforce. I'm going to be very happy to support this grant and to support all the work that you do on behalf of our veterans and active duty military like Shane, our essential staffer here. I think we are in a very precarious time as a country where our most vulnerable communities are. suffering and under attack, and we need to be standing in the gap. for all of those vulnerable communities. And that includes our veterans community.

And I want to shout out, even just today, Tufts Veterans Center, they have a dental clinic, right? Because for all of our vulnerable communities, dental care, as Councilor Murphy mentioned, Dental care is probably one of the least prioritized among vulnerable populations because it's the most important thing that they have. Just last week, I think this week, my office is working with your office on housing eviction potential matter, and you guys have been really helpful in that. So I just want to thank you all for the multiple ways in which you serve and the many hats of service that you wear. I know that there's an open line of communication between our offices should we need to be stronger advocates on an issue. This morning I'm balancing a board meeting, a flag raising, hearings, and so I'm not going to be able to stay for the entire hearing, but just know that you have my full support and everything that you need. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Thank you, Council President. At this time, I'm going to ask the Commissioner of Veterans Services and Joseph Lee from the Worker Empowerment Cabinet and Jared If you would like to, and then Meredith as well, Commander Tuittoy, who I have great respect for, does an incredible amount of work at the Carter Post. I'm a member of the Carter Post, but she's... She's someone I respect and admire for her commitment to all veterans and including women veterans and veterans of color. So I want to say thank you to my good friend Meredith as well. So I'm going to go to Robert, Jared, Joseph, and Meredith. And then we'll have public testimony, and then we'll have questions. We'll have questions from the city councilors. My good friend Rob Santiago, Outstanding Commissioner of Veterans Services, Outstanding Sailor and Shipmate.

Commissioner Santiago, you're up.

Thank you, Councilor Flynn. So, Chair Flynn, Council President Louijeune, Councilor Murphy, Councilor Pepén, thank you very much for being here today and wanting to talk about our veterans here in the City of Boston. And so thank you for holding this hearing today. I want to quickly touch on this past week, our Veterans Day parade and our Veterans Day activities. Every first Saturday in November we have our Our Veterans Day Parade, and this year was no different. It was on November 8th. And I want to say that Boston, we came together. We came together, we paid tribute to the men and women who wore the uniform, who served our nation in peace and also at war. and who continue to serve our communities as civilians. For me, this year's observation was actually a very special one. Our parade was one of the biggest attended in both participants and spectators in years.

Even though we didn't have the privilege of hosting our active duty units because of the shutdown, it was still a highly successful one. I made sure that those units who traditionally and historically have came to our parade, they were active duty like the USS Constitution. and our National Guard. I let them know that they were fully supported and that we totally understand for them not being here. But we project that our parade is going to continue to grow for years to come. And once again, this year reminded me of the proud tradition of service in our city. Today I'm proud to be joined by two leaders in the Boston veterans community. One you see here, Meredith Stewart, who is the recently newly installed commander of the William E. Carter Post, where she is at right now. and also a Navy veteran herself.

And also going to be joining us soon is going to be Heywood Fennell, a Vietnam-era veteran and the president of the Triad Veterans League. These two organizations serve our veterans community here in the city of Boston. They assist with claims and benefits with transportation, Also like with the American Legion advocacy on Capitol Hill and with a simple powerful message that our veterans and our veterans families are not alone. This partnership we have between these organizations and many others is undeniable. Collectively, we understand the unique challenges many of our veterans face, quite simply because these organizations are for veterans by veterans. Transition to civilian life, dealing with service-connected injuries or traumas, finding meaningful employment, securing stable housing and accessing mental care are just a few of the collaborations that we have with these organizations.

and is a major part of our success as we continue to build on this collaboration. Rather this with these organizations, with the Veterans of Foreign Wars or the VFW, with the DAV or Disabled American Veterans, the Elks Club or other civic partners, student veteran organizations across the city like the ones in Northeastern and Simmons University, nonprofits and community-based veterans groups or Gold Star family organizations. Our partnership is what I call a call to action when it comes to helping our veterans community. And to all my fellow veterans who may be hearing, I want to say thank you. Thank you for your service. Thank you for your sacrifice, your love of country, and your continued commitment to our community. And also to the veterans' families, thank you for your support, your resilience, and for carrying the burdens that so often follow service. Your role cannot be overstated and will not be overlooked. Boston is home to thousands of veterans and military families.

It's a city that's enriched by our service. Through leadership in civic life, through volunteering, through mentoring our young people, through preserving our city's military heritage, Be it the banners program, the memorials, our Hero Squares program, or the plaques and dedications that bring our history. Keep the spirit of our veterans alive. And I know we've talked about it here before, but the leadership here in the City Council also matters deeply. A few updates that I actually want to share with everyone here today. We are currently in the process of moving the Office of Veterans Services from 43 Hawkins, which is just a couple of blocks away from here in City Hall, to 26 Court Street, which is right across the street from City Hall and also across the street from 17 Court Street, which is the New England Center and home for veterans. This is going to be a strategic move and investment to centralize access and modernize how we serve our veterans community and how we serve our veterans family.

So we are going to continue to build on the foundation that we have by accelerating direct access to earned benefits and delivering fast case resolution as well. So, excuse me, one quick, okay. We're also gonna be expanding our outreach to ensure veterans who are isolated or unaware of services are reached consistently. and we're going to continue to deploy improved intake and follow-up systems to make sure that no veteran falls through the peripheral crack. Another thing that I wanted to talk about is our Bridge to Gap program. It's been very successful in the first two reiterations and we are expanding our support network. Right now it is open season for our Bridge the Gap program. It's been proven to be targeting our investments and has been yielding results in our veterans community. By increasing funding opportunities, we continue to prioritize Our veterans and their need.

Another program that I want to talk about here recently is a partnership with Bright Marine. Bright Marine recently gave us $100,000. And with these funds, we are going to use to fund our veterans who are experiencing food insecurities. and it's going to help us expand our grocery and nutrition support of our veterans and with the holiday season just around the corner with both Thanksgiving and Christmas This is a program that we're going to ensure that no veteran and their family worry about where their next meal is going to come from. We're going to continue to ensure our veterans are prominently recognized, not only on Veterans Day, but also year-round. Our heritage deserves commemoration and our living veterans deserve our respect. We're going to continue to tap into the leadership of our veterans community as civic assets, as mentors, as volunteers, as advocates, and also as historians.

We will leverage their experience to strengthen our neighborhood institutions, Our civic planning and our collective memory of service. So Boston veterans have stood for something greater than oneself. They answered their call. Their example lifts us. And as we look forward to the next year, the next five years, the next 10 years, the next 50 years, we have to ensure that our commitment to those who serve does not fade, will continue in legislation, continue in funding, in daily support, and the values that we hold true here in the City of Boston. We will continue the promise that our city makes to its veterans that we will not forget, that we will not rest, and we will continue to serve them as they have served us. So I want to thank City Council and I look forward to working with all our veterans community to make Boston and continue to have Boston be a national leader in veteran partnership with our civic community, with veterans

Be mindful in policy and also in honoring our veterans' heritage. Thank you, Councilor Flynn.

Thank you, Commissioner. I also want to recognize City Councilor Brian Worrell and Ben Weber as well for being here. So Deputy Commissioner, did you want to speak as well, or should I just go to Joseph?

I'll just say a few remarks and thank you, Mr. Chair and City Councillors. As a veteran myself and as somebody who's lived across various states and even in Europe, When I did my research, no other city came close to the statistics when it comes to how safe Boston is, the incredible health care and education and just the Thank you, Jared. Joseph Lee, Joseph, you're up.

Thank you, Councilor Flynn, Councilor Murphy, Councilor Pepén, Weber, and Worrell for being here today to help us to get this grant through to help our mass hire career centers at JVS and ABDC support our veterans. As Council President Louijeune mentioned, not only do we work with all residents of Boston, but there is a focus specifically on veterans and making sure that they get the priority they need through these funds that we get from the federal government via the state so that way they are able to get the correct help they need as the commissioner mentioned kind of getting back into civilian life what it looks what it means to get a job again getting a hold of the services that the mass hire centers also provide such as unemployment or other skills training that will help them on that front of getting a job and moving forward in the direction of being reacclimated into civilian life.

Just want to say thank you for bringing this forward and having us giving myself and our office the chance to talk about the grant, but also the services that we provide that is provided at the MassHire site when it pertains to veterans.

Thank you, Joseph. I do want to take testimony from Meredith Tewitt from the Carter Post, the American Legion Post. She is testifying virtually. Commander Tewitt.

Good morning. Good morning. Thank you, everyone. I'm honored to be here. I want to first thank Councilor Flynn, a very strong member of the William E. Carter Post. Murphy, Council President Ruthie Lejeune, and all of the other City Councilors that are here, Pepén and Worrell. I want to say thank you and kudos to Commissioner Santiago for all the work that he does and his staff does on behalf of veterans. Here today, I want to speak on behalf of myself here at the Women in Carter Post and myself as a female veteran, a woman veteran here in the city of Boston, and speak how How I see the needs for more for women veterans. When we talk about veterans in the city of Boston, we talk about Veterans in whole. And a lot of times my comrades, my male comrades would say a veteran is a veteran.

True. A veteran is a veteran. But we all have different issues. We all have different... Thank you. Thank you. When it comes to access to health care, access to resources, and access to workforce development, be it transitioning or being in been in the civilian atmosphere and trying to transition into a new career or a new job. We find that we have more hurdles sometimes than our male counterparts. So I'm here today to say to the committee, to the commission, and to Mr. Lee, Thank you for all that you do for veterans, but is it enough? We need to do more. We need to identify veterans who don't. Identify.

Veterans who don't even know that they are veterans. Veterans who don't know that they can receive benefits or have access to benefits because a lot of times when I meet some of my older comrades, especially in the women's circle, they don't even realize that they're eligible. and that they can consider themselves to be veterans. So awareness, Awareness in the workforce, awareness in the veteran community is something that we need to focus in on. I think that we've come a long way, but we have more to go. Women being under attack in all levels right now is an issue that

I think we need to focus in on where our pictures are being removed from recruitment websites and things like that and historical veterans websites and social media pages. and so I really would like to ask the Veteran Services Office. And again, back to Mr. Lee to the workforce development stuff that let's try to put our heads together. I know my comrade Haywood would support me on this. Sometimes we don't always agree, but we agree on the fact that we need to be at the table. Veterans need to be at the table. Women veterans, male veterans, veterans need to be at the table when you're making plans, when you're discussing things.

When the grants are going out to organizations like MassHire and whoever else you want to give some monies to, and your collaboration, your partnerships, We need to be at those tables because we know which organizations are really working with us in the right sense. I sit here not only commander of the Carter Post, District Commander for Suffolk County American Legion. But I sit here at Deborah Sampson 2024, Military Friendly Veteran of the Year 2025. And I, I mentioned all of that to say that's because I'm passionate about improving access, enriching our veteran community With needs and with organizations that are really going to work with us. And, you know, my brother Haywood would say, when are we going to really start doing the hard work? Right?

Many of us are trying to chip away, chip away, chip away, but we need you guys to help us do the chipping also. Right? So when it comes down to putting monies into the community, the monies have to go to the organizations that are really going to work and do the work with us here in the city of Boston and not just say they're doing the work. From a women's perspective, we have so many organizations out there that are veterans organizations that you don't see too many female veterans or women veterans being serviced. And why is that? Because we are not aware, and I say we, Many of us are not aware that these organizations have opened doors for us. So I ask you, I challenge you, I challenge everyone in the city of Boston, everyone on this committee, Everyone in the Veteran Services Office with the Commissioner.

Let's get together and open those doors and let the women veterans of the City of Boston be aware of the fact that those doors are there for them to enter through to get services, to be enhanced, to be enriched. We have women veterans in the city of Boston who can't work for many reasons via PTS, MST, whatever it is, who are living in single rooms or homeless on the streets or need assistance and are afraid to go and get assistance because of The trauma that they faced while they were serving on active duty or reserve duty or whatever it may be and we have to be able to Let them feel that there's a safe space for them, that they can come in and get services. So I want to close out by saying that

If we all do a little, and I think Brother Kenny would be proud of me, if we all do a little, will accomplish so much more than what we are doing now if we all do a little together at the same table. At the same table, not individual tables. Thank you so much for allowing me to be able to be here today and talk on behalf of the women veterans here in the city of Boston and probably, you know, light a little fire with the Commissioner and with Mr. Lee about collaboration around workforce and around the health and awareness of veterans in the City of Boston. Thank you, Councilor Flynn, for having me.

Thank you, Commander. We respect you. We're glad that you're here. You have an important voice that we value here in the city and just want to say thank you to you and the Carter Post for always being there for the veterans across The City and across Massachusetts, really. So to Shane Pack. Thank you, Shane. We have one other gentleman that I want to take the testimony of Haywood and then I want to Go into public testimony and then give all my colleagues an opportunity to ask questions on either one of these two dockets. Fennell, are you on?

Oh, Heywood, you might have to unmute. Hello? Hey, Heywood, good to have you on. You're on with myself, City Councilor Flynn, Rob Santiago, at the Veterans Department and others. You have the floor, take a couple of minutes. You can hear me? Yeah, Haywood, we can hear you. Take a couple of minutes. You're testifying. You're up, Haywood.

All right, Dan. Good morning, everybody. Everybody, good morning.

Good morning.

Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Councilor. Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you, everybody. Thank you, Commander. We need this meeting that brings us together. A lot of work is being done here in the city of Boston. I just want to say I really appreciate that. I really do, ma'am. So many other cities are looking to Boston and the work that you've been doing for some time now. You know, we're not strangers to struggle. and I'm proud to be a part of a team that's doing some things, that's making some results in building the presence of veterans and the significance of understanding that our veterans are an overlooked and underused community resource. It's not always about the money. It's about the dignity and respect that we have lost for some reason or another.

Maybe it's because we got a guy that's not a veteran that's leading the country now. and his appetite for a lot of disorder when it comes to veterans. But Tribe Veterans League is Our understanding of the importance of building the presence, that's why we collaborate with different organizations that speak with the commissioner about the things that we see in our community that we believe that veterans can do and must do. When it comes to this grant, I don't understand all of it, but I will before it's over, and I will let folks know, you know, using our media strength. We are present in this community for one reason, and that is to heal the veterans that are out there that need our help. There's a lot of veterans that are facing Alzheimer's and other mental traumas and a lot of females because we always include females.

and our strategy to raise the consciousness of people. You don't have to be a veteran to support veterans in what we're doing. Thank you so much for the work that you're doing, Councilor Flynn, and you're a veteran and retired as well as our commissioner. and the other City Council people that I'm in touch with. I'm really grateful for this opportunity to introduce this bill that's going to help our veterans, including me, because I'm disabled. And I just want to remind you that we have an exhibit at the Strand Theater that opened on Veterans Day and is hanging in commemoration of the services of African American veterans. to include women. And so we're asking your support for that because our plan is to put together a proposal package to submit to the

United States Postal Service to create a commemorative stamp series honoring veterans, patriotism, and the presence that's needed in the United States of America. about veterans and particularly black veterans and what they did and what they are doing. So I'm asking you to go by and see it. It's hanging there and it was done by a youth group 10 years ago. and from South Boston, Artists for Humanity, Tribe Veterans League Commission and paid for it so that it could educate and further empower the presence of African American veterans. and their sacrifices. Again, I thank you. Looking forward to working with you. Coming down to the new place at 26 Court Street. I will be there. Please let me know. Thank you again for all that you do for the veterans.

Well, thank you, Heywood, and we have great respect for you and for your service, and we admire you and your commitment to veterans and I'm glad you were able to testify virtually, myself and Rob. Thought you were going to be here in person, so we had a hot cup of coffee here for you and a muffin.

That'll make two muffins you got now, so I'll be down there. It's almost a meal. It's almost a meal. I'll be there.

I know Rob said next time you come to his office he'll have a hot cup of coffee and a muffin for you, so make sure you take Rob up on that offer. I'll bake the muffins. Thank you. Thank you, Haywood. I'm gonna call public testimony at this time. and then I'm gonna go into my colleagues' questions. And I'll say the three names if you can all come down at the same time. Kyle Foley. Kevin, Kevin Palmer, yep, and John Provenzano. Can you all come down and testify?

and testify and I don't necessarily have a time number of minutes but speak as long as you feel is necessary to get your point across.

Thank you, Councilor Flynn. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here. My name is Kevin Parham. I'm the Vice President of Career Services at JVS Mass Higher Downtown Boston. And I'm basically here to say thank you for what you are doing for our veteran community. and to assure you that we at the Mass Hire Career Center, we're one of 21 career centers throughout the state, and we are very, very committed, 100% committed to the veteran community. We understand the challenges that exist in the veterans community, and we are here to offer our workforce development services, whether it's to upscale, or to find training or find a job for our veterans, we will do that. One thing that is very, very known in this city and in the state is that the Mass Hire Career Center system is one of the best kept secrets in the state. And we're here to

to offer our veteran community, in particular, the workforce development services they need to better their lives, get a job, get a leg up, particularly the returning veterans. And I just wanted to say thank you again. I'm here to actually introduce our veterans representative, Kyle Foley, who will have more to say to you about our veterans, because she works directly with them. I oversee the division that provides the services, but Kyle is the one that can give you The rubber meets the road information in terms of our veteran customers. So again, thank you, and we do appreciate the support that this council has provided, and we'll do so in the future. We look forward to working with our veterans community very much so. Thank you.

Thank you, Kevin. Thanks for being with us. Kyle?

So my name is Kyle Foley. I am the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program Coordinator for MassHIRE downtown Boston. But the short term for that is that I'm a veteran's career advisor. So veterans come to me when they're seeking to pursue education, to pursue bachelor's degrees, graduate school training programs, and when they're looking for jobs, when they're looking for somebody that can help them navigate the job market. For those of you that don't know, and I'm sure you all do, but just to check in, Boston is one of the most competitive job markets in the country. Veterans still face barriers in education. If you look at schools like Bunker Hill Community College, Roxbury-McHugh Community College, UMass Boston, those are excellent schools. The best educational experience I ever had was at Bunker Hill. But those degrees are not competitive in the Boston job market. That's simply a reality.

From 2017 to 2025, we've had a net out migration of veterans in this state that sits around 100,000 people. We are losing them to states where it's cheaper to live and where their degrees and their training are taken more seriously, where military training is honored in the civilian world. We need to do much, much more for these veterans to keep them in this state, not just because we owe a debt of gratitude to them, but because we are the state that has the best veteran services. And we also need to do a much better job communicating what those services are to our veterans and particularly to female veterans and to veterans of color. There is not nearly enough outreach into communities of color designed to find and identify veterans and to bridge the gaps that they have in training, in education, and in job market skills. Whatever this state can do to amend those issues,

would make an enormous impact.

That's it.

Thank you, Kyle. Excellent testimony and looking forward to working with you. John Provenzano. Good to be with you, John.

Good morning, everyone. Apologize for being a few minutes late. Hey, Rob. I'm from South Boston, and my In my community, I'm not a veteran, but I'm old enough to go way back to the Vietnam War. and I lost a lot of friends. I played football in the streets of South Boston and their families. And I'm here just to give what little I can give other than, you know, Councilor Flynn, Murphy, You know, I'll do anything that I can. All you have to do is call, and I'd be there. But I respect you gentlemen for being here and testifying, and I'm so glad to see you. A couple of the councilors here. The halls should be filled.

This chamber should be filled with people to not only thank you folks for what you do, but to give as much support as they can. I'm not a speaker, so I'm just gonna give you one more minute to say that I appreciate the young lady, and they spoke very well, but what she's saying about Massachusetts being a strong advocate for the veterans, I'm very proud of that. The friends that I lost, and I wasn't one of them, I had to go there. Unfortunately, I was married, had a child, and so I was diverted a little bit. But I just... Weekly, I go up to the memorial to pay my respects to all the people that we lost and to all the

The people now, the veterans that need our support in any which way, I mean, you could walk down the street and you... In town, and there are guys that are sitting in the gutter looking for help. That's where we all come in. So I just want to say thank you to the counselors that are here. Keep up the good work. I apologize for being late, but, you know, traffic. Thank you. Thank you, Ed. Appreciate it.

Thank you, John. Yeah. So at this time, I'm going to ask my colleagues if they have any questions. I'm going to go last, but I'll go to Councilor Murphy, Councilor Pepén, Weber, and then I'll go after Council Weber. But let me start with Council Murphy.

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. And just looking forward, it's December. The session's going to be ending, but we'll be together again. And I know we'll make it our fifth year, Joseph, where we come together early to talk about being prepared right for our youth summer jobs and all the other amazing work your department does but I think this is important to kind of ground ourselves into remembering that it's you know our veterans also not just our youth and I know your office doesn't think that but it's important to remember that we have different pockets across the city and at the end we want the same result for all of them and to Thank you. Thank you.

So well that you work closely with state, federal, but so many outside agencies also that help support. And the different needs that our women veterans have, Veterans of Color, and you know, there's such a range, right? You're supporting people who could be Gold Star families, they could be disabled veterans, homeless, some have just, Debilitating mental health issues, employment, food. There's just so many needs. And your office has to be ready and support all of those needs. So any chance to just say, Thank you. I'm here for you. I will just end by saying, you know, you never think, and I think I said this the last time we were here when we talked about the government shutdown, and like my son, would he get paid or like nanny? Will Bourne National Cemetery be burying?

But just today was in connection with three different agencies, right? I was with checking on Papa Jack this morning and the VA home health aide who's at the house supporting him at 91 with dementia or talking with the National Cemetery for Nanny and her burial or my son and like I mentioned the American Red Cross stepping in and supporting The things you learn when you don't know you need to know that if you're on deployment watch you can't take leave and just how just so many different agencies step in and support in so many ways. I think it's true for so many different things we do on this council is where we have so many we're a rich city but not everyone knows that how to get connected to the services so One of the things I hear you and your team always say is we have so much to offer. We are a state that we should be proud. We can always do more.

You don't sleep at night, I know, because you're worried about those who just don't know that there is something here. We just need to connect you to them. So anyway, I can do a better job. Thank you for connecting our veterans to what you're already doing a great job at. I'll continue to try to do better, so thank you for what you do. Thank you, Councillor.

Thank you, Councillor Murphy. We're also joined by Councillor Mejia. Councillor Mejia, thanks for being with us. at this time, Councilor Pepén, you're up.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And again, thank you so much for the work you all do. Thank you for the public testimony that we heard here today. You know, looking at the Flynn, and says here that there's approximately a little over 13,000 veterans that reside in the city of Boston. That's a pretty big number. We want to make sure that they have the resources that they need in order to strive here in the city. I want to ask you just a few questions starting with, Have you seen any impacts in federal grants being cut to our veterans? And if so, how is that really impacting us? Or if there isn't any?

Thank you, Councilor Bevin, for that question. So we don't get any federal grants through our office. But one thing that I will say that we do have a robust partnership with the local VA. both in the administration side and which is the benefit side and also the healthcare side. But we do not receive any federal grants for our veterans.

Okay. Okay, that's... That's good to know, I guess. So the grant that we're trying to pass here at the next council meeting worth $12,881. Coming from, oh, this is coming from the United States Department of Labor, which is specifically for veterans. So how would that help? How would you all help facilitate that in making sure that that's going directly to our veterans?

I can talk to that, Councilor. So that is part of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act, which is a formula fund that comes from the DOL to the state and then comes to the Office of Workforce Development to be administered by Kevin and Kyle, who you heard speak at the mass hires, one location downtown at 75 Federal and the other in Roxbury at 10 Malcolm X Boulevard. So those that The specific $12,000 fund is support the occupancy cost for those two veteran services members focused on disabled veterans and families of veterans. They are state employees, salary-wise state employees, but the grant helps them fund their actual seats at those two locations and through the last fiscal year, just to show some impact, which, as we all heard, needs to be more.

And we are working with Commissioner Santiago to help get that word out about the mass hires and how other services that they provide, counseling being one, education opportunities being another. They have served 59. Veterans in Job Search, Assessments, and Counseling. 30 of those veterans have entered into employment with an average salary rate of $28.49. So they are well above the minimum wage that we see here in Massachusetts. They are also given priority if they were to come in. So if they do come in, veterans and their families of certain categories, and we can share with the council, the TIGL that goes out that lists what those are, do get priority services of all WIOA funds. And then there is a specific concentration on those that are deemed

Skilled Efficient, which means reading at an eighth grade level or lower to help them get upskilled so that way they can join this competitive job market and work with the different areas, you know, and not only doing the work with mass hires and making sure that our veterans know about that, but also looking at non-bachelor required pathways, such as working in the life sciences field through biodiversity, which is a training program in Dorchester that doesn't require any kind of post-secondary education. It just needs dedication and curiosity.

They have a great program there.

Yes. They just recently updated me that seven out of their last 10 have been hired. So 70% of their folks graduated with a job in hand. So those last three are working through some offers they said, so hopefully they'll be at 100% beginning of the year, but that's how the $12,000 helps us to make sure that those seats are occupied by the state veteran services in those so that way people know, hey, if I'm in Roxbury, I go to the AVDC Center. If I'm in downtown Boston, maybe I just met with Commissioner Santiago's team over at OVS, I can walk right over to 75 Federal and then Get help and stop my job search right then and there.

Wow. That's great. And I'm so glad that we are putting this money to good use to making sure that Well, you just mentioned that our people are getting the opportunities if they're seeking for it and that we are there. I think that one of the public testimonies mentioned we are a very competitive job market, making sure that it is competitive and reachable for our veterans as well. So Mr. Flynn, Councilor Flynn, Chair Flynn, I'm very thankful that you had this hearing for us to learn about it. I mean, to your point, right? It's always good to have a hearing for grants just to ask the questions. So I'm very thankful for you all. That's it for me.

Thank you, Councilor Pepén. Council Weber, you're up next.

Thank you. Yeah, just following up on that last point, Joseph, I know, and maybe GVS can answer this. But I think they try to give job training for, they try to find the market where people can go. line them up for success that way, not just train people for jobs and send them out into the world. Do you know what kinds of jobs we're talking about?

Off the top, I do not know those, but we can definitely get those answers for you, Councilor Nover. Obviously, we do try to line up as many people we can with their military background, so that way, like you said, there isn't a need for... A lot of training, but sometimes, depending on what that looks like, but we can definitely get you an answer, a more comprehensive list.

Okay. I mean, Kyle, feel free to... I know JVS was training people specifically for lab tech jobs and kind of trying to line up. Do you mind? Sorry, Chair.

So your question is specifically what job programs are we putting veterans into?

Yeah, correct.

So the truth is there's not a single answer to that. JVS itself has lots of training programs for things like lab technicians, various locations have training programs for pharmacy tech. and many more. I tend to get veterans at the very low end of the proficiency spectrum and at the very high end of the proficiency spectrum in terms of training and education. About half of my veterans come out of the Court Street Shelter, and many of those individuals are dealing with various combinations of homelessness, substance abuse, or a criminal record. Corey and Sori, if you know what those things mean.

The other half are veterans who are either coming out of high-level training programs or colleges and are either looking for white-collar jobs or looking for graduate education. I have a very easy time finding jobs for my folks who are looking for technical work who are looking for Let's say jobs as a lab technician, I can put them into a training program for that, who are looking for jobs as a phlebotomist, who are looking for jobs that require a CDL. Classification. Where I struggle and where our program struggles is finding jobs for our veterans who are looking for high paying, high level, white collar jobs. And I think that there are a couple of reasons for that. The first is that the perception of veterans in the workplace has changed enormously from, let's say, when my parents' generation of veterans was entering the workforce.

Because we have an all volunteer veterans force at this time, I think that the perception, particularly of enlisted veterans, has become that this is something they chose to do because they didn't have other options. That is not the case. That is a misperception. The classic caricature of the kind of young delinquent standing before a judge who says, son, it's jail or the army for you, that's a cultural fallacy. These are young men and women that chose to serve their country for a lot of reasons, but the primary reason for most of them was that it was a free pathway to college. The issue for veterans in Boston with college education is that the doors are essentially closed to them at high-level institutions. And I say that as somebody who experienced that myself. I was very lucky to get a scholarship to Wesleyan University as a veteran because they adopted A veteran scholarship program through the Posse Foundation.

But we have lots and lots of high achieving veterans coming out of Roxbury Community College and Bunker Hill Community College. who go to apply to schools like Northeastern and Harvard and Tufts and BC and BU and are immediately directed to an extension school. Once they come to me with a degree, it then becomes hard to market them to white collar firms because they're a little older and that in and of itself is a barrier. and because the perception of veterans is that they're somewhat dysfunctional and none of that is true. So what we really need in partnership with Large hires in Massachusetts at JVS, specifically for veterans, is the state to help us partner with organizations and to incentivize veterans hiring at companies that offer this kind of work. Does that help answer your question?

Yeah, no, I think just in terms of when we're having conversations with people, it helps to kind of sketch out the issues and challenges and what we can do to help. So yeah, I think that helps.

I would also say if the state can do anything to remove barriers at these schools and also to remove, I'll just be completely honest with you. My entire side job is that I'm a college and secondary school admissions advisor. and for veterans and the children of veterans I do that pro bono. Something that I have quite a difficult time with and I'm actually going to Bunker Hill to give a class to veterans on transfer applications next week is that Extension schools are incredibly predatory with veterans, as are online schools. And I will say this again. You can receive a wonderful education at any college or university in America. I truly believe that. But there is a difference between receiving a good education and an education that is competitive in a job market like Boston.

What we really need is to make sure we're giving that information to veterans, that they deserve and should be taken seriously in the admissions process at high-level colleges and universities all over the country, but specifically right here in Boston because we have So many of them. So if we can do anything to remove those barriers or to remove the perception that veterans cannot do the work at those schools, that would be a game changer for veterans.

Okay, thank you very much. Thank you, Chair, for aligning. I just have one quick for Commissioner Santiago. For the Bridge the Gap grants, so you may have discussed this. I'm sorry, I missed the beginning. You have $300,000 and you're taking applications between now and January 20th?

Yes, Councilor. It's open season for the third round of the Bridge the Gap started last week. We may extend that only because there's the holiday period coming up. and we also are in the middle of an office move as well. But we are accepting the applications as we speak, yes sir.

Okay, are you accepting them? Just individuals, individuals, organizations can apply. Who should be applying for those?

It should be organizations that serve the veterans community. There are many capacities in which they could help out. I have the list right up here. The focus areas that we're looking at is housing, transportation, health and wellness. Economic Mobility, Legal Services, and Educational and Historic Programming as well. So those organizations that help our veterans in that sense can apply.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Chair. I appreciate it.

Thank you, Council Weber. Council Mejia, you're up next.

Thank you, Chain. I appreciate it. And thank you, Chair, Councilor Flynn. I really do appreciate your leadership and how hard you work for and stand up on behalf of our veterans. just for those folks who are tuning in On Wednesday, Councilor Flynn utilized his announcement time to share that he was going to be hosting this hearing and put us all on notice that we better show up, literally. So I made some plans and that I rescheduled so that I could be here even though I was late. But I wanted to show up for two reasons. One, because It is really important for us as colleagues to show up for each other. And even though sometimes Councilor Flynn and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum,

Flynn always shows up to my hearings and it was important for me to demonstrate my gratitude to you, Councilor Flynn, and to show up today and to show up for the veteran community. I just want to say thank you for your steadfast advocacy in this space. And so out of respect for you and your leadership, You brought me into the chamber on a day that I was supposed to be doing other things, but it's all good. I'm here now, so let's make the most of it. I'd love to hear and welcome and thank you all for your service and everything that you do on behalf of our community. So I want to talk a little bit about mental health. and Wellness, as it relates specifically to our veterans.

I have often shared here publicly that my cousin, who was a veteran, died by suicide. You know, PSTD is real and just the residue of that, right, still lingers with families. And so I'm curious if you could just talk to us a little bit about Kind of the support services after one of our veterans has died to suicide. What type of support services are in place for the survivors, the family survivors?

Well, thank you for that question, Councilor Mejia. So it's never... Good thing to talk about when we're talking about veterans. who died by suicide. The numbers are staggering. They're high, averaging about 21, 22, sometimes 24 a day. One is too much. One is too many. And like you stated, the residual of that is the families, the friends, brothers and sisters, the comrades that are left behind in trying to figure out and how to move forward from it. We have partnerships with the VA with programs like the home-based program. And if there's any others that, Jared, that you could think of off the top of your head, please also...

The Vet Center. Yeah, the Vet Center is also a big one. We have a very... Good Vet Center down in South Boston as well. They're part of the VA, They work independently from the VA, so they basically get their funding through the VA. And they provide services to the families, support services. to also veterans that may be even thinking about it or they may be having mental health challenges to hopefully prevent any further death by suicide. But we do everything that we can for the families to support them in any which way that we possibly can through our resources, through our benefits. and through our partnerships and collaborations here in the city of Boston, in the state, and as well as federally as well. Just recently in Bourne, Massachusetts, the first PTSD Memorial was erected.

It's the first one in the country that's erected to elevate the need For continued services and for even more services for our veterans and their families as well. It was sponsored by Joe Cook, whose son died by suicide as well from South Boston. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend, but Councilor Flynn did attend that ceremony down in Bourne, Massachusetts. So the discussion is happening, but it's something that needs to be obviously elevated Thank you, Commissioner. So I wanted to just follow up

and go a little bit deeper. And I'm happy to know that your office has designated resources specifically for women veterans, I believe, and so I'm happy to hear that. And I'm curious, are there any efforts being made to compile resources for the LGBTQ plus veterans who face a higher rate of mental health issues and barriers to receive gender affirming care?

What does that look like? There's also a conversation that we continue to have. We're working with Caroline Foley, I think is her name, from the VA, who runs the LGBTQ office there at the Boston VA. and to continue the conversation but as it pertains to our office in particular we do need to do a better job in putting those resources out there putting it on our website and amplifying them as well.

And would that be the same for Immigrant Veterans.

Yes.

Yes, so both of those.

For both, yeah. Right. With the immigrant veteran population, it will most likely be a little bit different, only because of the attacks that they're facing today. So, you know, we actually had a couple of situations here very recently that we've pointed them to Moya to help out as best as they possibly can using their resources. So we've been working with our city agencies to ensure that those veterans are taken care of.

You know, and as the chair of post audit, our office likes to dive deep into how budget allocations are being spent in real time. So we recently hosted a hearing and we noticed that as of September the 30th, Only 12% of the AIDS to Veteran line has been spent. And I'm just curious about this line item and how we go about spending it. Because seven months from now, budget season is here. And so I just want to make sure that we are spending the money that we're getting and if there's anything that we can do to help support or disseminate information.

Disseminating information is definitely one thing that we could help out with. The AIDS for Veterans is primarily to support the Chapter 115 mandate that we have from the state. And unfortunately, our numbers for Chapter 115 keep dwindling as our veterans population numbers also are going down as well. But the biggest barrier that we have with Chapter 115 is the poverty level that we have to follow because of the state, which is currently, I think it's still at 200% of the poverty level. which for City of Boston veterans just doesn't cover it, which is why we've established a Bridge the Gap program so that we could bridge that gap to assist those veterans that are in need, however, do not qualify for Chapter 115. So a lot of that allocation from the age to veteran is also going to the Bridge the Gap program, but it's also still a work in progress to ensure that within these next seven months that we ensure that that money goes out to the veterans that are in need.

And would you happen to know, since we're speaking about all the things that are happening across the country and the world at this point, The widespread Veterans Affairs layoffs on the federal level. Has that trickled down to the work that you've been doing here? Has your office needed to redefine priorities as a result of any federal policy or budget changes? I'm just curious how we are adapting to The federal climate and what are we doing to be the front line of defense here?

Fortunately for us right now, we haven't had a large influx of concerns about what has happened in the federal government when it pertains The only thing that I've been hearing through the pipeline from being involved with a lot of the veteran organizations is that right now the backlog in the VA claims have been even more so backlogged because of the federal shutdown that we just recently came out of. But as far as it pertains to the services and benefits that are coming through our office, it has not impacted them to that extent.

Thank you. Thank you for that. And I am not... Fortunately, I got to say.

Fortunately, the benefits and services through our office have not been impacted by what's going on in the federal government.

And lastly, and I do appreciate, Councilor, Flynn, allowing me to, I believe, go over. I don't know what's happening right now. I don't hear the clock.

You can have one more question.

So, you know, a lot of the work that I do is usually around community engagement and making sure that Literally the voices of the people are being heard and they're front and center. And even when we don't want to hear it, like I know that sometimes you're like, oh my God, councilor, do you really want to bring these people in here? Yes, I do. I do, I want to bring everybody in because I believe regardless of whether or not we want to hear from them, our job is to amplify the voices of all people. And so to that point, I'm curious about what are some of the efforts that your office is doing or could be doing if you had more resources to engage the harder to reach veteran. I'm thinking about those who are unhoused, those who are experiencing mental health and You know, issues and need support, who don't have families. Like, I'm just curious, like there's so many folks who are struggling in silence right now and they don't have a way to plug in. or they're not connected to City Hall.

I'm curious about what can we be doing to support you in your efforts to tap into folks who are traditionally not

Community collaboration is huge and I think I mentioned this at the last hearing as well is if there's any events that your offices are having either in the district level or at the at large level You know, and you want a representation from the Office of Veterans Services. Have your office contact my office. Have them contact me directly. Or you could contact me directly. Contact the deputy or Bella Giambuso, who manages my calendar. And we will ensure that veterans' presence is at those meetings. I will say this, I am very thrilled that when I am out in the community that I see a lot of the councilors out and about at those events as well. A couple of councilors have actually reached out to me wanting a copy of my schedule for Veterans Day to ensure that they would have as much of a possibility of going out to all those events as possible.

and without hesitation, I've given the schedule out. I mean, there was a lot of stuff on there, you know, but, you know, through Veterans Day or all the way leading up to Veterans Day and even this week, It was great to see the different Councilors within all the neighborhoods being there. Councilor Flynn, of course, he tries to make everything as much as he possibly can as a veteran. as a mother of a service member in the Army does the same as well. I know St. Councilor Weber, who's my counselor, by the way, in JP. We were out there in JP at the post-76 as well. and the Councilor Pepén at the Fog Post in Post 78. So seeing all the Councilors out there.

I was in Roxbury. I did some stuff in Roxbury.

Yeah, you did.

I just want everybody to know I show up too.

But my point is that it's great to see that when I also go out to these events that I see the representation from the city council out there as well. Could there be more? Let me know what's going on in your neighborhoods. Let me know. Give me a heads up. Hey, I have an event in Roxbury. Or hey, there's a certain thing going down in Dorchester or wherever that You know, Commissioner, if you want to be a part of it, just let us know. So if I could be clued in as to what's going on in the neighborhoods, I could make sure that that representation from my office is there as well.

Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you to everyone for your hard work. And it really goes to show that when we're in community and spaces like this, it helps inform our thinking and better prepare us for the budget season and identifying the areas of interest, the concerns, the gaps and things of that nature. So I want to say thank you for your leadership and thank you for all your hard work.

Thank you, Council. Thank you. Thank you, Council Mejia. Council President Louijeune.

Are we now just at the end of the first question and answer? Thank you so much. I apologize. I had to step out, and I had enough time to come back, so I was like, let me come back. You didn't bring no food with you? No, I did just have a really good dessert, but I'll bring another one. Did you talk about the city's new policy on leave for those who are in military service and need to take paid leave to serve in the military.

Oh, thank you for that. No, I have not.

Yeah, because I think that's, I've been championing that, and it's because you do so much, Commissioner, but I think that's a really great policy, the increase from 19 to 40 days. I think it's worth people knowing.

That is huge. So recently Mayor Wu signed a The military leave policy, extending military leave for those City of Boston employees who serve in our military. and it just goes to show and recognize the extent of what we here in the city of Boston do to ensure that even those that serve, that are part of the city staff that when they come back home, that whatever they need, that we're sure to serve them and take care of them as well. and it did extend it to 40 days, which is huge, which is huge for our city of Boston employees that are called into service. So thank you for bringing that up, Council President Louijeune, and it's only the beginning. and we're going to continue to look for other areas where we could take care of those staff members that work for the city but also are called to serve our country.

Thank you. Thanks, and Shane, make sure you make note of that, the increase in those days off. Did you also discuss, and something that this council has been very supportive of, is the mini grants, the Bridge the Gap grants, I know that those have increased. They're increasing in this fiscal year. Is that correct? And how do we help share information about those grants?

So every year, every iteration of the Bridge the Gap has actually gone up. We started with just allocating $100,000. We ended up, I think, that first year. giving out and granting, I think it was about $140,000. The second iteration was $200,000. We ended up granting close to $300,000. This year is up to $300,000 We're hoping that we would have to extend that over $300,000 and it's all going back to the community. Just another way for us to, like we talked about a little bit earlier, The Bridge Your Gap program is to ensure that we bridge that gap. For example, Chapter 115, for those members who don't qualify for Chapter 115, We could help them out with our Bridge to Gap. But also those organizations that are highly impactful in our veterans community, that help out our veterans community, whether they're nonprofits or other organizations. Heywood Funnel is... was one of the recipients for his Triad Veterans Organization of the Bridge the Gap program.

It's just an extension of what we're doing to help out our veterans and using our community partners to do that. and we're very happy that right now is open season. January 20th is right now the deadline. We may extend that if need be, but we're looking at also continuing that. It's been a very successful program. and we're happy to hear the stories coming back from these organizations and how they are actually impacting our veterans community and their families. Just the other day I was at Patriot's home down in South Boston and they were also one of the recipients of our Bridge the Gap grant. They were one of our grantees and seeing how they've allocated and spent that money on behalf of the office to the veterans that live at Patriot Home has just been Thank you, Commissioner.

And you mentioned Haywood. I want to thank Haywood for being here. And I want to thank Haywood for on Veterans Day, I was able to attend a beautiful Art exhibit that the Triad veterans have up at the Strand Theater. And I really recommend folks go out and take a look at that really great exhibit. So thank you, Haywood. And I know Meredith Tua is on here, too, for all that you do. My last question is regarding legal services for veterans. I know that Harvard Law School has a clinic, a veteran services legal clinic. How often are you interacting with them? How often are you thinking about? So for example, Moya. has every other week, right, they have a two hour in the evening where people who have immigration legal questions can come and get those questions answered. Has that been something that you've thought about doing? Have you seen a need, legal needs arise to the level of where something like that could be of interest

of use to your department? Are you in communication with the Veterans Law Clinic over at Harvard Law School? What the legal side of questions and issues, what would that? And I ask in part because of the constituent case that we're working on in my office with your office, but just asking more generally about. We actually didn't direct them to the Veterans Legal Clinic, but maybe we should have. Just want to get your take on that part of the work.

Before I say that though, you had something to say real quick?

Oh, yeah, I was just on the last question about the Bridge Gap. One of the examples was the North Bennett School, which is, of course, one of the first trade schools.

Oh, right, right in the North End.

Right in the North End, right. And they did receive a... $10,000 grant because they do not get the same yellow ribbon program from the VA because of The designation of the school since it's a trade school. So in this way, our money helps them fund that so that veterans can attend this school and get trades and then they're more employable. So that's all I wanted to add.

Awesome. Thank you.

When it comes to the legal services, we actually do work very closely with Harvard Legal. I know Dan Nagin and myself, we speak as much as we possibly can. And then also, they have been participating As well as veteran legal services have been participating in our stand downs, as well as the expo that we had in Gordine Park this past year. They were there. Also the welcome home that we did in Suffolk University, they showed up there as well. and I was also a speaker at one of their veteran conferences at Harvard Legal as well. So we do communicate and collaborate with them quite a bit and we do work with them sending veterans their way We've been sending their way to Harvard Legals and I also believe that They were also a recipient of our grant program as well.

Don't quote me on that, but I believe that they're one of the many that have received it. But we do work with them. And I think there's also something to look into, Council President. maybe having an official legal sit down with them or a call with them to see where we could collaborate more or talk about the veterans that we've sent their way or any veterans they may send our way just to keep that contact and to get any updates.

Yeah, just so if only if you see like the need from constituents and veterans to reach out. Is it rising to the level of like, OK, we should have more of a partnership? Or I think Moya is an example. There are struggles with the Moya model as well, but just something to consider. Thank you so much for the work that you do. And thank you, Mr. Trey. I don't have any further questions.

Thank you, Council President. I'll ask a brief a few questions for the record. Commissioner Santiago, probably in January I'm going to file a hearing to have a hearing on women veterans, the impact services and programs for women veterans. How we can be more supportive of women veterans. We often hear a veteran is a veteran. I hear that frequently, which is true, as Meredith Tuitt mentioned. Women veterans have distinct issues, challenges that need to be addressed that aren't being addressed, such as gender-specific medical care, hiring more women,

Veterans, hiring more women at the VA Medical Center as well. Commander Tewitt also mentioned MST, which is military sexual trauma. A high percentage of women I believe it might be over 50% have experienced military sexual trauma. So that's an issue supporting women veterans but also working with them and providers at the city, state, and federal level, VSOs. But just want to ask you, Commissioner, maybe in February, maybe in March, if you could Attend that meeting, I'm sure you will, but just want to see what your thoughts might be.

Well, first and foremost, I know I hear that term a lot also, a veteran is a veteran. I don't agree with that. While we all did serve, we all, for the most part, wore the same uniform depending on which service. that you served in, whether it was the Navy, Marine Corps, or Army, for that matter. But we all are our own individuals as well, and we all have our own challenges, as well as experiences, different cultures and backgrounds. So the veterans community is just diverse as our Boston community with different needs that may require different services, different benefits, and things of that nature. So while I do hear that as well, That's not how we move forward in our office, at least. Because again, the different services that may be required by some veterans, they may not be required by other veterans. And the same thing holds true in our different neighborhoods here in Boston. They're very diverse as well.

A veteran in South Boston, most of those veterans would have a different need than a veteran in Dorchester or Roxbury. And that's where our focus needs to be at is what are the services that are needed from a veteran in West Roxbury compared to a veteran in Roslindale as well, which is why it's also very important going to Councilor Mejia's point Thank you for joining us. are talking to Latino and Puerto Rican veterans as well. So being out in the community talking to these different diverse veterans group is highly important to ensure that I am doing what I need to be doing and getting that pulse that Meredith was talking about earlier. And she is correct. Every veteran needs to be at the table. Every veteran needs to be part of that table. So I know exactly what needs to be done for our veterans so that way I could bring it up to this body

Bring it up to the administration so that we are doing what we're doing for our veterans. But all veterans have different challenges. All veterans Thank you, Rob. And one final

Comment or question? You and I worked on during the Obama administration and then the Biden administration in Harris. One of the issues we worked closely on is how do we work together? Because a lot of veterans, and at the time was gay and lesbian service members, were discharged from the military due to their sexual orientation. And at times, they didn't, The discharge papers didn't necessarily say they were being discharged for being gay or for being lesbian, but they were being discharged because of mental health challenges or for some other particular reason.

And I bring that up because in those discharge papers, it downgraded the discharge. I'm retired. I have an honorable discharge. Rob is retired. Retired, he has an honorable discharge. But if you don't have an honorable discharge, if you have something other than an honorable discharge, that's what it's actually called, other than honorable or general discharge, you don't get the same benefits or Services if you had an honorable discharge. And Rob, I think you were really one of the first veterans across the country working with the federal government on seeing how we're able to support discharge veterans to see how we're able to increase their discharge paperwork from general or other than honorable to honorable discharge.

And just wanted to highlight the important work you have done on that, Rob, because especially during this critical time, we know what is happening. Those gay and lesbian service members served honorably in the US military, even if their discharge didn't say that, but it's also important to try to do everything we possibly can to Change the discharge paperwork. And I know there is a process, but just wanted to ask what your thoughts might be, Rob.

Thank you, Councilor, for for elevating that as well. It's an ongoing battle. The war hasn't been won. We lose some battles, but we've been gaining ground. But with this current administration, all that work that we've put into it is, again, under attack. And it's, you know, one of the great things, and, you know, talked a little bit about how great Massachusetts is in taking care of our veterans. One of the great things that came out of This current administration under Governor Healey is the Veterans Equity, what is it, the Veterans Equity Review Board. This only unfortunately just affects the state entitlements for veterans. But if you are a veteran that was discharged under Don't Ask, Don't Tell or discharged under

and the band prior to that, you could go in front of this board and they'll go ahead and and many more. benefits that are owed to you as a veteran here in the state of Massachusetts. But at the federal level, I know that some cases have been handled on I could tell you as a gay veteran myself it was very challenging and many more.

however their paperwork said different so those are the cases that really need to be brought forward and those discharges need to be need to be need to be overturned and turned into a good paper discharge, and also why it's important to continue that relationship and that collaborations with groups like Harvard Legal Services and Veteran Legal Services because they are the ones in the forefront of advocating for and working with those veterans to get those discharges overturned.

Thank you, Commissioner, and thank you to your team.

Mr. Chairman, I'm sorry, can I jump in? I just, if you don't mind, can I ask a question? This is Meredith.

Yeah, Commander, you can take a minute. Go ahead, Commander.

Just to be quick, I just want to be able to get some notes on everybody's radar. Miss Foley from JVS, when she spoke about higher education, She missed the main part about some of the veterans like myself, who higher education was not something that we were really interested in. It's the trades. I was a jet mechanic in the Navy and I wanted to work on stuff like that so I work with a lot of veterans who are trying to get into the unions trying to do things so we need to focus sometime on the trades and how do we help veterans that are trying to get into the apprenticeship programs and so on. I wanted to get that on the table. Councilor Mejia talked about Chapter 115. Chapter 115 is hard A lot of the veterans to achieve and to get. Santiago's office does a lot to help, but when they ask for questions like your bank account, you have to prove you don't have a bank account. How do you prove you don't have a bank account? You have to prove that you don't get unemployment.

Not just a screenshot of the page that said you're denied unemployment, they want you to get a letter. But a lot of our veterans don't have the mental to be able to go into the building and wait for an hour to talk to an agent at the unemployment office, which is by appointment only, to be able to get the letter saying that you're not eligible for unemployment and you don't get unemployment. So how do they do all of this to get the Chapter 115? Thank you for the Bridge the Gap program. Sometimes that helps, sometimes it don't. Again, some veterans are not comfortable going and speaking to somebody to get that assistance. They might go to an organization to help them. But then the organization is like the go-between for them and his office or whatever office they're working with. So I want to get that on the table so we can understand how do we fix that. Now, Carolyn Mason-Wald from the VA with the Women's Center, she is part of the WVN with me, and we have many conversations about how do we improve Women's Assistance, Women's Health Care, Access at the VA, and what more we can do.

So I'm excited to see that she's doing something with Boston Veterans Services to be able to work on. I know she does a stand down and all of that, but there's more that we can do around that. Also, I noticed there was a question about legal aid with Harvard, Harvard Legal Aid. Harvard Legal Aid is phenomenal when it comes with your claims and you're doing other things like that, but there's some things... that they will turn you away and say that we can't help you with. If it's a civil claim, I had a young veteran woman who had two children and they both had disabilities and she was having a struggle with her landlord She was being evicted, she was becoming homeless with two handicapped disabled children and they couldn't assist her, they couldn't help her and she couldn't afford to pay for an attorney. So what do we do to help someone like that? Right? Those are things that we need to talk about. And also, the other thing that was mentioned when we talk about our community collaborations, we talk about our LGBTQ and trans

Veterans. We talk about our African-American veterans, our Latinx veterans. What about our indigenous veterans? I want to throw that out there. We need to do more to make sure that our veterans and the indigenous community are at the table with us. And Comrade Haywood will always jump in and tell you that we have to focus on Our veterans in the recovery community and our returning citizen veterans. You know, when I do American veterans in prison and I want to thank Commissioner Santiago, he went to one of the programs and events with me. We have to be able to work with our Incarcerated Veterans and not just at the state level but at the local city level that they're going to be coming back to or they might never come back to. So there's different things that are out there still that we really need to and I just wanted to get them in the notes. Get them into the transcripts so we can be able to talk about how do we work on

These different avenues, be it trade, be it women's health, women, and I look forward to whatever you're going to do. March is Women's Month, so if you want to do it in March, that would be a good month. It's a busy month for women, but that would be a good month to focus in on the female veterans, you know. And again, I want to thank everyone that is here today and for all the questions. There were so many more. things that I could throw to the table with comments from Councilor Weber, comments from Councilor Mejia, you know, love you sister when you come out, you know, you come out, you know, but, um, I just want to say Commissioner Santiago has so much work to do and I really hope that we support him when it comes to the budget. I hope we support him when it comes to the needs of the community, you know, because he is out there all the time. You know, so I want to say thank you, and I just wanted to get those out there, guys.

Hey, Meredith, you know you have my number, right? You can call me anytime. 24-7.

Thank you, Commander Tewitt, for the important... Comments that you provided, we respect you and your opinion, but we respect your leadership and the critical role you play in Massachusetts and in the Commonwealth. I enjoy working with you and it's a privilege. So I just want to check, is there anyone in the audience that wants to testify that hasn't testified? Any virtual testimony? Okay. I'm not going to give an official closing.

I have no comments on this, but these two dockets, 0253 and 0722, is adjourned. I also want to say thank you to the administration team that's here. I want to say thank you to Shane Pack that is here from City Council Central staff, the public testimony, and everyone else that was able to weigh in in any way to make this a very informative hearing. These two dockets, again, 02530722. This meeting is adjourned.