More than 10,000 veterans call Broome County home. They are our neighbors, our coworkers, the coaches at the ballfield and the folks in the next pew. They kept their promise to this country. Our job is to keep ours to them.
Last fall, after a decade of planning, Broome County opened the Timothy M. Grippen Veterans Resource Center on Binghamton's North Side, just east of the Binghamton Plaza. Named for Tim Grippen, a Vietnam veteran, and former County Executive. It's built on a simple idea: a veteran should not have to drive all over the county, make ten phone calls and fill out the same paperwork five times to get help they already earned.
Now, under one roof, the Broome County Veterans Services, Clear Path for Veterans, and the Southern Tier Veterans Support Group all work out of the center. Veterans can get help with benefits claims, connect with peer support, take educational programs, work in the community garden, and use regular mobile food pantry visits. This center is a remarkable resource for our veterans.
Right next door there are 10 tiny homes, the first of their kind in Broome County. They are ADA-accessible, fully furnished and can be rent-free, for veterans who were facing housing insecurity. Soldier On provides supportive services to the people living there.
That matters. A veteran with a stable roof is a veteran who can make the VA appointment, hold down the job, and get back on their feet.
This $12.2 million project came to fruition because county, state and federal partners stopped passing the buck and pulled in the same direction. That is how government is supposed to work. I thank all the leaders that made this possible.
This initiative is paying off. At this fall's budget hearing, Veterans Services Director Brian Vojtisek told the Legislature that the number of veterans coming in and the number of services being provided have more than doubled in the last year. Those are veterans who were slipping through the cracks before and are not anymore.
Brian deserves real credit for that. He served this country as a United States Marine, and he never really stopped serving. He has led our Veterans Services Agency for years, kept pushing for this center through years of delays, and still treats every veteran who walks through the door like one of his own. Brian is a remarkable human, and we should all look to him as an example one that truly serves his community and beyond.
Here is what I'll keep fighting for:
Protect the funding and the staff. When more veterans walk through the door, the wait shouldn't get longer. Our Veterans Services Agency needs the people to keep up with the demand it's already seeing. Our staff deserve to do their jobs without being over-burdened.
Reach the veterans who have not come in yet. Too many older vets, rural vets and the ones who would never call themselves "in need" don't know what they're owed. Every veteran in this county should hear about the center from someone they trust.
Build on what works. Ten homes is a strong start, not the ceiling. If the outcomes hold up, the county should go after grants and partners to do more.
Connect veterans to good jobs. Veterans bring discipline and skills employers want. I'll push to link the center with local training and skilled trades, so service turns into a career here at home.
Veterans don't need politicians who show up for the photo on Veterans Day and disappear the rest of the year. They need people who show up at the budget hearing, ask hard questions and make sure the money goes where it's supposed to. That's the job I've tried to do on the Legislature, and it's the job I'll keep doing.
To every veteran in Broome County: thank you!
Not just for what you did in uniform, but for what you still do for this community. You earned this help. I'll do my best to make sure it's there when you need it.
Tim Ames, Broome County Legislator, District 15
