Standing up for our veterans in Albany

When I came back from Afghanistan in 2012, I was in a tough spot. I experienced things nobody should. I wasn’t the same person I was when I left – and I never will be.

That trauma led me to do things I’m not proud of. I kept a gun in my trunk because every day I thought about suicide. I wasn’t going to hurt anyone else – yet nobody but me could know that.

One day, on a routine traffic stop, a police officer found the gun. My life started spiraling downward. I faced a prison sentence of five years for weapons possession. I didn’t know what I was going to do.

That’s when I found the Veterans Defense Program. Thanks to the legal assistance of Captain Cody of the VDP, I am not in prison. He understood the unique circumstances that veterans face. After he explained my situation to the judge – my severe PTSD, suicidal depression and trauma – the judge understood that prison would make things worse, not better.

Thanks to this program, I am in PTSD treatment and on 3 years’ probation. Thanks to the judge, the Queens district attorney and the VDP, I’m digging myself out of the hole I found myself in. 

Unfortunately, my situation is far from unique. Approximately 153,000 veterans in New York state have mental health ailments, and studies show 50 percent are not receiving treatment and at significant risk of arrest as their trauma symptoms can lead them to criminal conduct, such as substance abuse, weapons charges and burglary.

The VDP does amazing work for the veterans it can help. It offers direct assistance to veterans like myself including training defense attorneys who might have a veteran’s case without knowing how to handle the unique circumstances. And the program has saved the state almost $18 million in incarceration costs.

But the VDP is overwhelmed. There is one office – and it’s upstate, in Batavia. It doesn’t have the resources to serve everyone upstate, and those of us downstate need an office of our own.

Luckily, here in New York City we have champions for veterans, such as Assemblyman  Michael DenDekker and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. The state budget will be finalized this month. By increasing the funding for VDP by less than a million dollars, the state Legislature can save lives and money.

Peter Ivan is a U.S. Army Veteran and resident of Astoria.