RyeCity REVIEW THE
January 24, 2020 | Vol. 7, Number 54 | www.ryecityreview.com
County Dept. of Social Services receives grant
Hidden gems Westchester is launching a new tourism campaign aimed at differentiating Westchester by showing the true range of unique experiences available to all. For more, see page 6.
Hudson Valley Honor Flight seeks local veterans Hudson Valley Honor Flight is seeking veterans for its two spring flights taking place on Saturday, May 2 and Saturday, May 30. The May 2 flight will depart from New York Stewart International Airport and the May 30 flight will depart from Westchester County Airport. Flights take veterans on an all-expenses paid trip to visit our nation’s war memorials in Washington D.C. Veterans will travel in comfort and safety aboard a fleet of chartered deluxe buses while in D.C. for the daylong tour and fly back to New York
that evening. All area World War II, Korean War, Cold War and Vietnam veterans from the following counties who have not previously taken part in a Hudson Valley Honor Flight are eligible to participate: Orange, Ulster, Dutchess, Westchester, Rockland, Sullivan, Putnam, Pike, Pennsylvania, Bergen, New Jersey, and Fairfield, Connecticut. In addition, veterans who served in the time between World War II and the Korean War are eligible to participate. Currently, Vietnam veteran applicants will be placed on a waiting list. Ap-
plications can be found online at hvhonorflight.com. “We are looking forward to a busy spring of honoring our American heroes and excited to fill seats for both of our upcoming flights,” Chairman Frank Kimler said. “We’re seeking veterans to join us for a wonderful day of honor, reflection, thanks, lots of laughs and maybe a few surprises along the way. With ShopRite’s generous support, we are hoping to fill every seat of these two planes and are currently planning our itinerary.” Hudson Valley Honor Flight, HVHF, is a local nonprofit based
in Walden which honors Hudson Valley area veterans for all their sacrifices by bringing them to Washington, D.C. to visit their respective war memorials at no cost to them. HVHF is also the local hub of the National Honor Flight Network, which has more than 100 independent non-profit “hubs” nationwide. HVHF is currently seeking sponsorship for future missions, as there are many worthy and eligible veterans and HVHF wants to continue honoring them. To learn more, call 845391-0076 or visit http://hvhonorflight.com. (Submitted)
Furthering the county’s mission to provide comprehensive legal and social services to families struggling with child welfare issues, the Westchester County Department of Social Services, DSS, will partner with Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, LSHV, to create the Family Defense Unit, FDU. The New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services issued a $2.61 million grant to the county for this three-year project. This model unit, to be based in LSHV’s White Plains office, will also serve families in Yonkers and other communities as needed and will be staffed with attorneys, social workers and parent advocates who will provide assistance to families with child protective and family court matters. Families will also have access to a range of other LSHV legal support to address loss of health insurance and other benefits, eviction, homelessness, consumer debt and domestic violence. Westchester County Executive George Latimer said: “Our Department of Social Services, along with the expertise of Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, will ultimately help to produce stronger, more stable families in Westchester through the creation of this program. We have a long history of successful collaborations with LSHV, and I am thrilled that Westchester has been selected to operate this first-of-its-kind program upstate, which will address both the legal and social service issues confronting parents who are affected by the child welfare system.” Commissioner of DSS Kevin
McGuire said: “We are appreciative of New York State’s commitment to full representation and support of families engaged in the child welfare system, and are dedicated to this partnership with LSHV to achieve even better outcomes for the children and families we serve throughout Westchester County.” LSHV’s Chief Executive Officer Barbara Finkelstein said: “At Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, we advocate for individuals and families who cannot afford legal representation when their basic needs are at stake. This important collaboration with Westchester County will advance our clients’ due process rights while also helping them get the benefits and services they need. We could not do this important work without the support of our partners in government and because of this pilot program, hundreds of Westchester County families will receive critical legal assistance to ensure that they have a fair chance in the justice system.” The Family Defense Unit attorneys will be tasked with providing the appropriate legal and support services necessary for the clients, social workers will assess the needs of each family to provide case and crisis management, and parent advocates will provide peer-to-peer support to families on a weekly basis. LSHV, Westchester’s lead agency in domestic violence legal services, already has four community-based offices located in Mount Vernon, Peekskill, White Plains and Yonkers. The county Family Defense Unit is set to open in 2020. (Submitted)
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