Nassau Taking New Steps To Fight Veteran Homelessness

To help address the problem of homeless veterans in Nassau, the County Legislature is now considering two bills that would create a special department to help find housing for the thousands of homeless veterans in Nassau.

The two bills, which make up the Dignity For Our Heroes Act, were put forward by Legislator Joshua Lafazan. The act would establish the Nassau Commission on Ending Veteran Homelessness and help find homes for Nassau's veterans. According to the Nassau County Veterans Agency, there are 5,000 veterans in Nassau that are homeless, soon to be homeless or housing insecure. And according to the Department of Veteran Affairs, more than 37,000 veterans across the country experience homelessness on any given night.

“I stand here in solidarity with veterans from across Nassau County in declaring a new day for our County's commitment to the men and women who have served this nation in uniform,” Lafazan said during a press conference unveiling the initiative. “What is both egregious and unacceptable is that there are an estimated 5,000 veterans in Nassau County who are either homeless, soon to be homeless, or housing insecure. This should be a shock to the conscience of every resident in this county. That is why I filed two bills aimed at eradicating veteran homelessness in Nassau County.”

The act would establish the Nassau Commission on Ending Veteran Homelessness, which would be tasked with completing a detailed study of veteran homelessness and offering recommendations toward the establishment of a future transitional housing facility in the county. In addition, the county’s Human Rights Law would be updated to explicitly ban anti-veteran discrimination in the housing market.

“No person who put their life on the line to protect our freedom should be denied housing, then have to spend the night under a train overpass. It’s important that we let those who served our country know that we are thankful for their service,” County Executive Laura Curran said. “It’s even more important that we demonstrate our gratitude to them through action. We have a moral and patriotic duty to meet this challenge, and I look forward to engaging the commission and reviewing their report so that our county, and our Veterans Service Agency can more effectively address the needs of veterans, including transitional housing.”

If passed, the 12-member Nassau Commission on Ending Veteran Homelessness is slated to include county department heads as well as social service organizations and advocates for veterans and the homeless. The commission, which will be co-chaired by a representative of the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency and Deputy County Executive for Health and Human Services Kyle Rose-Lauder, will be tasked with assessing the transitional supportive housing needs of Nassau County’s homeless and at-risk veterans and making recommendations related to the size, scope and specifications of a transitional housing facility to meet those needs. The commission shall convene by June 1 and present its findings and recommendations to the Legislature and county executive by Oct. 31.

The Dignity initiative would also specifically protect veterans from discrimination in the housing market by amending Nassau County’s Human Rights Law to make veterans a protected class of residents. While disabled veterans are already afforded federal protections through the Fair Housing and Americans With Disabilities Acts, veteran status by itself is not a protected class. By amending the Human Rights Law, all Nassau County veterans, active military members and their families will be protected and empowered to challenge discrimination through the Nassau County Commission on Human Rights.

The push to amend the County’s Human Rights Law is consistent with bipartisan federal efforts to update the Fair Housing Act in a manner that protects veterans. It also dovetails with Suffolk County’s recent addition of veteran status to its Human Rights Law as a protected class.