BATH, N.Y. (WETM) — Steuben County’s new program for underserved veterans will begin soon.

“I am excited for our veterans in Steuben County,” said Steuben County Veterans Services Agency Director Gary Smith. “This is an opportunity for our veterans to engage with each other and build a peer support system similar to what they experienced in the military.”

This new program is designed to allow veterans to engage with each other and build relationships based on trust. The program plans to accomplish this through peer support and social activities.

Funding for Steuben’s new program is from the PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Fund. The fund was named after Joseph Dwyer. Dwyer enlisted in the military after 9/11 and was a combat medic in the US Army 3rd Infantry Division. Dwyer took his own life in 2008.

Steuben County received $100,000 from the fund to start its new peer-support program. This program will be administered by the county Office of Community Services through a contract with Veterans
One-Stop Center of Western New York. The Steuben County Legislature approved the program on Monday, May 22.

For more information about the new veterans program, you can call the Steuben County Veterans Services Agency at (607) 664-2527. For information on Veterans One-Stop Center of Western New York, you can visit this website.