ADK Peer-to-Peer at SUNY Adk here to assist veterans

By Caroline Martindale, Chronicle Staff Writer

Adirondack Peer-to-Peer assists veterans assimilating to civilian life.

Danele DelSignore, a mentor and Navy veteran, told The Chronicle, “The program keeps veterans together to make sure they have support in the community. Whether they have good or bad experiences after deployment, there’s still a transition to get back into the civilian world. There’s a lot of things that they’ve seen that the average person can’t understand.”

Ms. DelSignore said Peer-to-Peer helps veterans access state and federal resources and offers amenities at SUNY Adirondack where it is based.

“There’s the Randles Veteran Resource Center for any student veteran or any veteran that wants to use a computer to do research. It’s a little lounge and it’s set off from the student center,” said Ms. DelSignore.

The lounge has information on veteran organizations, events and benefits. A resident Veterans Benefit Advisor assists with benefits, compensation and pension applications, medical requests, burial services and Veterans ID Card access.

“We are affiliated with a lot of organizations in this area that help veterans review and apply for benefits,” Ms. DelSignore said.

“If you’re a veteran and you’re homeless, we help you get into permanent housing, if not temporary housing until permanent housing through the [Veteran & Community Housing Coalition].”

Mental health outreach is the other crux of the program. Six mentors, all veterans, offer on-call support to beneficiaries suffering from PTSD — post-traumatic stress disorder.

“We’re trying to stop the 22-a-day suicide,” said Ms. DelSignore.

She said Peer-to-Peer is based on the Joseph P. Dwyer Program, named for a service member on Long Island who committed suicide.

“He felt the call to serve after 9/11,” said Ms. DelSignore. “When he came back, he got married and had kids, but he still couldn’t acclimate after what he had seen. He spent his days playing video games and self-medicating to the point where we lost him to PTSD suicide. That was the foundation that started all this.”

She said Peer-to-Peer is in 23 counties.

“Maybe they won’t talk about whatever experience or whatever is bothering them, but they’ll at least talk. They’ll get out. They’ll do things.”
dirondack Peer to Peer
DelSignore also coordinates events with local businesses. They provided two activities for veterans and their families at the Lake George Winter Carnival.

“All the money we spend we try to put back into Warren/Washington County and in veteran-owned businesses. We do a lot with the VFW and the Legion, and support a lot of their events.”

Ms. DelSignore said the events are expanding. “We do a weekend retreat at Chingachgook camp, and we’re doing that again this year. But instead of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we’re adding Monday because it went so well.

“I talk to two new people who don’t know anything about Peer-to-Peer at each event. Two new people or one person and one organization — spreading the word about a great program.”

For more information on benefits and local events, see adkpeertopeer.org or ADK Peer-to-Peer on Facebook.

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