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Suffolk County Veterans Services Agency

The Suffolk County Veterans Services Agency in partnership with the Long Island Veteran Suicide Prevention Coalition will host the 5th annual Veterans Resource and Stand Down Event to provide information and services to our local veterans in need on Tuesday, August 29 from 2 to 6 p.m. in the H. Lee Dennison Building Media Rooms, 100 Veterans Memorial Highway, Hauppauge.

This year, 26 organizations and county agencies will participate, offering a variety of resources free-of-charge.

“I am proud to host this resource event that honors and supports our brave veterans,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. “Suffolk County is home to the largest veteran community in the state so it is vital for them to have access to these essential resources. It’s our way of showing gratitude and providing the tangible assistance our veterans truly deserve.”

 Veterans who attend  will have an opportunity to receive a variety of resources including: sneakers, socks, t-shirts, rain jackets, backpacks, underwear, hats, fresh produce, information about local veterans nonprofit programs and much more!

Over the last two years, more than 500 veteran attendees have received resources from the various organizations and county agencies at the Stand Down Event. The County anticipates 200 veterans will attend this year.

The following organizations will be participating in the event:

  • Suffolk County Community College

  • General Needs Ltd

  • Long Island Cares, Inc.-The Harry Chapin Food Bank

  • American Red Cross

  • VA Medical Center Women’s Healthcare

  • Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk, Inc.

  • CN Guidance and Counseling Services, Inc.

  • Long Island Problem Gambling Resource Center

  • Veterans Yoga Project

  • St. Joseph’s University NY, Office of Military and Veteran Services (OMVS)

  • National Grid

  • Long Island State Veterans Home

  • Paws of War

  • Stony Brook University

  • PSEG Long Island

  • United Way of Long Island

  • United Veterans Beacon House

  • Northport VAMC Caregiver Support Program

  • Family Service League

  • Northport VA Medical Center

  • Warrior Ranch Foundation

  • Dwyer Project

  • Amazon

  • Catholic Health

  • Suffolk County Office for People with Disabilities

  • Island Harvest Food Bank

Amy Millheiser from the LI Veterans Suicide Prevention Coalition said, “We lose 17 veterans a day to suicide and one of the goals of this coalition is to improve connectedness among veterans and the organizations that support them. This event is an opportunity for organizations to come together to assist veterans in need and connect them with the resources both at the VA and in the community.”

“General Needs Ltd invites the local Suffolk County Veterans to participate in this uniquely collaborative event to learn about services, programs and resources available for them and their families.  It’s been wonderful to see all of the veteran agencies jumping onboard and working together to make this Stand Down/ Resource Day informative, supportive and  respectful. If you’re a vet, it may have been awhile since you’ve reached out for help.  Please come and walk through, take some information that you may need or want in the future. You’ve earned these benefits, please come, receive our thanks and take a step forward for yourself and your family,” said Lonnie & Susan Sherman, Founders of General Needs Ltd.

David Lyons, interim president and COO of PSEG Long Island said, “PSEG Long Island  understands the importance of helping our neighbors, especially our heroes in the veteran community. We are proud to partner with Suffolk County, the General Needs organization and National Grid to support this Stand Down event. Along with providing information on job opportunities in the utility industry and details of our money-saving programs and services, we are distributing new coats and boots, rainwear, socks and other winter essentials that will help our neighbors who served, be more comfortable in the coming months.”

To RSVP for this event please use the following link here or call (631) 853-8387. 

The lineup of the Veterans Comedy Assault Team. Photo by Bob Savage

Already working with homeless veterans, when VFW Santora/Bonacasa Memorial Post 400 Commander John Rago was approached to start a comedy act to benefit veterans, he said the decision was a no-brainer.

Under Project9line, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that helps veterans reintegrate back into civilian life and helps those suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, founder Patrick Donohue came up with the idea and had veteran comedians come in and teach a class to other veterans on how to perform and write his or her own material.

In March of 2015, the Veterans Comedy Assault Team performed for the first time at the Sayville VFW Post 433. According to Rago, despite it being a snowy evening, they had to turn people away because of how packed the venue was. That’s when the group realized that they had something special.

Patrick Donohue, found of Project 9 Line, gets the crowd going. Photo by Bob Savage
Patrick Donohue, found of Project 9 Line, gets the crowd going. Photo by Bob Savage

“I thought it was going to be one and done, but we had so much fun doing it and got such a big response that we realized we had a good product that we could keep going with,” Rago said.

The group performed a few more shows and held another training class this January before performing at the Centereach VFW Post 4927 — a bigger venue was needed due to another sold-out show.

One of the comedians, “Tugboat” Manny Erias, who performs his own stand-up act three nights a week, helped the team get into the Broadway Comedy Club in New York City.

“I kept saying, ‘We’re a block and a half away from the Ed Sullivan Theater,’” Rago joked excitedly. “Soon. One day.”

The group also performed at Comix Mohegan Sun, a comedy club on the grounds of the casino in Connecticut, and most recently held a benefit show at the Moose Lodge in Mount Sinai after Rago was approached by a veteran and recent divorcee with three children, who was on the verge of becoming homeless.

“I moved here from Florida and went through a divorce,” said the mother, who asked to remain anonymous. “I used all my savings. I tried to do the best I could. It became difficult.”

She reached out to the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program under the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and was turned away because she exhausted all of her resources. She said the VA told her because she wasn’t homeless yet, there was nothing else they could do for her, and that even if she was to become homeless, assistance was not guaranteed.

Audience member Elizabeth Trabold laughs during the show. Photo by Bob Savage
Audience member Elizabeth Trabold laughs during the show. Photo by Bob Savage

That’s when she called Rago’s office at the Suffolk County United Veterans Association for Mental Health and Wellness, where he is an outreach coordinator. When he heard about her situation, falling behind three months on her rent, he thought holding a comedy show to benefit her was the perfect solution.

So Rago made a call to Ron Romanska, who used to work at the Suffolk County Veterans Services Agency as an officer and is now involved in the Coalition of Veterans Organizations and a member of the Moose Lodge.

“I told him the story and that I wanted to do a comedy show and he said, ‘Okay, you want the Moose Lodge? You’ve got it.’ Just like that,” Rago said.

During the comedy show Aug. 27, which more than 100 people attended, the Veterans Comedy Assault Team raised nearly $2,500. The Moose Lodge chipped in $500 and the owner also handed Rago a personal check for $100, on top of the raffle prizes being donated from different stores and businesses.

“There’s nothing like making somebody laugh — it’s so much fun,” Rago said of the events. “Guys in the audience who suffer from PTSD tell us that for the hour and a half they had not a care in the world because they were laughing. It’s therapy.”

It’s also therapy for those involved, like Erias, a retired U.S. Navy Reservist who suffers from anxiety and depression, and goes to the Association of Mental Health and Wellness camps for help coping with his condition.

“We donate our time, money, energy and resources into this and it’s a great success,” he said. “There’s nothing better than helping someone else out by being able to do what we love. It’s the best feeling in the world. And you do it without looking for a return. I’m broke … I’m going for disability, my mother just passed away and I have so many things working against me to keep me down, but I go up there, and for me, it’s a coping skill. I make people laugh, and forget about life for a while.”