The D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University (IVMF) recently received $1 million in additional grant funding to support veterans and their families in Central New York. The grant renewal was awarded by the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, a nonprofit organization that aims to improve the lives of vulnerable New York residents.
The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation donated $1 million in additional grant funding to the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families.
This is the second time Mother Cabrini Health Foundation has supported the IVMF. An initial $500,000 grant in 2020 was fundamental in establishing a partnership between the City of Syracuse and the IVMF to create SyracuseServes, and it also supported a landscape assessment on the status of veteran care across New York State. The assessment, conducted by the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and IVMF, was later used in developing an action plan for what this additional funding will achieve.
“Coordinated care has increasingly gained attention as an effective way to improve the health and well-being of veterans and the military-connected community. Accessing care can be difficult though, especially for veterans and their families,” says Vincent DelSignore, IVMF’s director of community services. “The investment from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to expand the SyracuseServes network will further the reach of our coordinated care efforts and will help remove barriers so veterans and their families can easily, and more directly, access resources in their communities.”
Over the last two years veterans from neighboring counties have increasingly sought out support from SyracuseServes, indicating the need for expansion. The first $500,000 grant in 2020 mostly supported military families in the City of Syracuse. A portion of the new grant funding will contribute to expanding coordination services to the neighboring counties of Cayuga, Cortland, Madison and Oswego. The expansion will see SyracuseServes continuing to support the important work of local partners and organizations serving the approximately 45,000 veterans and their families residing in the five-county region.
Additionally, the funding will support IVMF’s continued efforts across New York state to help veterans and their families. IVMF will establish a statewide Community of Practice with support from the grant and will also share the data gained to further help communities and organizations understand how to best serve the military-connected community.
The investment from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation will expand the SyracuseServes network.
Like many regions across the country, Central New York is home to a variety of federal and nonprofit organizations dedicated to supporting veterans and their families. Finding these organizations, however, and knowing which one to go to for a particular service can be challenging.
“As we begin to recover from a pandemic that has hit vulnerable populations the hardest, we must continue to address the challenges communities across New York State are facing: food and housing insecurity; lack of access to basic health care, including vaccines; workforce issues; and educational, racial, economic and health disparities made worse during COVID-19. We must continue to support the full range of services that make for healthy people and communities,” says Monsignor Gregory Mustaciuolo, chief executive officer of the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.
To learn more about IVMF’s efforts in empowering communities to best care for veterans, servicemembers and their families, or to connect to a AmericaServes community, visit IMVF’s Community Services.
The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of New Yorkers, bolster the health outcomes of vulnerable communities, eliminate barriers to care and bridge gaps in health services. Named after a tireless advocate for immigrants, children, and the poor, the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation funds programs and initiatives across New York state that either provide direct health care services or address the social determinants of health.
