ATHENS — Greene County veterans converged on the TGM American Legion Post 187 in Athens on Thursday to learn about all of the government and nonprofit services available to them at a veterans resource fair hosted by New York state Sen. Michelle Hinchey.

The senator has organized four veterans resource fairs since last fall in the 46th district. The Athens fair on Thursday was the second in Greene County, following an event at the Cairo Public Library on Nov. 16.

As the event was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. on Thursday, the legion’s parking lot was already full, necessitating street parking for the large crowd interested in gathering information on veterans’ programs.

“Word is getting out,” Hinchey said. “Cairo was our very first Veterans Resource Fair and it was new. So, I think we’ve been spreading the word. We’ve also been in Saugerties and Altamont, and now here in Athens I think people are seeing it. Word spreads and people are showing up. The organizations that are here are really incredible. So, I think people are hearing that when they go they can actually get help and resources. It’s definitely growing, which is good to see and we’ll do more.”

Hinchey’s father, the late U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-26, 22, was a U.S. Navy veteran, making the event a personal perspective for the senator.

“We have a big responsibility to our veterans and to the people who have dedicated their time and skills and much of their lives to protecting our country so the rest of us can live in freedom,” she said. “We do not do, as a country, a good enough job of making sure that our veterans are supported and protected when they come home. Ones who serve abroad and those who stay here. So it’s really important for me, coming from a military family, that we offer more and show our veterans, very clearly, that we support them and we’re here to help them.”

Kevin Hicks, the service officer of American Legion Post 983 in Cairo, served 29 years in the U.S. Army and noted that fostering a sense of community among veterans was critical after they leave the service.

“This is important because it seems like once a service member transitions from the service, they lose that sense of connection and camaraderie they had,” he said of the fair. “The whole time they were in the service, they have a buddy-team system and there’s a chain of command. There’s always some way to get support. Once they transition, it’s really difficult for a lot of veterans to figure out where the support networks are. So, events like this highlight all of the organizations in the local community that a veteran two blocks away might not have had any idea about.”

Adam Schnopp, case manager with Soldier On, a program that combats veteran homelessness and promotes home ownership among those who’ve served their country, manned a booth at the fair.

“We help veterans who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless,” he said. “I think this is a good place to reach veterans, maybe not homeless veterans, specifically, but the veteran community is very well-connected and a lot of it is word of mouth. So, if any veteran in here finds someone who happens to be homeless, I believe they would reach out and let them connect with any of the services here.”

George Skraastad, of Cairo, served from 1964 to 1987 in the U.S. Navy and perused the booths at Thursday’s fair.

“Maybe I can find something that will help me out,” he said. “Most of it I’m too old for now, but this is really a good thing, especially for the younger veterans.”

With his staff running late to the event, Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden set up the county’s booth at the fair and noticed the impact of the event immediately.

“I had two vets come to me right away with issues with red tape with the federal administration,” he said. “So, I think the significance is that by the community outreach, they can go to somebody and hopefully they can get their cause championed. Plus while they’re there, there’s 13 other agencies they can get services from. So, the collection of the number of service levels there was as equally important as to what the individual agency could provide them.”

Officer Beatrice Urciuoli, of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, presented veterans with literature about potential employment opportunities in the prison industry.

“We’re just here recruiting for corrections officers and parole officers, civilian jobs and health care opportunities,” she said.

Urciuoli added that it was a priority to employ veterans in the correctional sector.

Greene County Legislator Harry Lennon, D-Cairo, attended the fair and was impressed with the robust turnout, which filled the Athens hall.

“You can look around and see that the attendance is overwhelming,” he said. “I think it’s very important for our veterans. We can never forget the service that they gave to our country.”

Lennon said he was hopeful the veterans event was the second of many to come in the county.

“I understand there’s one in the works for Coxsackie and I think there will be others in Greene County, too,” Lennon said. “I thank Sen. Hinchey for bringing this forward.”

Michael and Jolee Hicks conversed with veterans about their program -HicksStrong Inc., which honors their late son Macoy Hicks.

“Our mission is to save military lives,” Michael said. “The reason we’re here is that we lost our son in 2019. He was active duty in the Navy and he took his own life. We realized how much need there was in our military and their families. So what we do is we link them with therapists and we cover the costs of 25 sessions.”

-HicksStrong Inc. is based in Clifton Park, but the organization provides services to soldiers nationally.

Gordon Mosher, commander of the Athens American Legion post, said another resource fair is already being planned for the Athens American Legion this summer at a date to be determined.

“We have to get the information out to veterans,” he said. “We’ve spread the word out around the county to get people here. It’s a good turnout, which is very nice.”

Greene County Legislator Daryl Legg, D-Hunter, said the fair was a welcome gesture of support for the local veteran community.

“The best part about it is that the veterans know that they’re appreciated,” he said. “It’s a nice kind of payback for them, to know that they can get something from our community that they helped protect.”

Greene County Legislature Vice Chairman Matt Luvera, R-Catskill, said the wide array of organizations gathered at the fair made it a much-needed resource for veterans.

Hinchey said the elected officials at the event were there to serve the military community.

“We want veterans to use us as a resource,” she said. “The best way to do that is to go to places like this and bring the resources to them. There’s a lot of resources out there and it’s hard to navigate and it’s hard to know what’s available. It’s oftentimes very difficult to navigate, so we thought it would be easier and better to just bring everybody to one spot and connect the dots for care and support.”