Assessing the needs of Veterans during the pandemic and beyond

Written by Brighton Marine's former CEO, Michael Dwyer and Soldier On CEO, Bruce Buckley

Brighton Marine's former President and CEO Michael Dwyer teamed up with Bruce Buckley, CEO and President of Soldier On, to pen an op-ed piece for The Berkshire Eagle shedding light on the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the Massachusetts Veterans community, and what they are doing to address their needs going forward.

In the piece, Dwyer and Buckley highlight the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) study, commissioned by Brighton Marine in 2020, which identifies several priority areas that Veterans need assistance with, most notably food insecurity, housing, mental health and unemployment. Dwyer and Buckley go on to note they are committed to implementing the recommendations the CNAS report suggested for Veteran-serving organizations, including revamping outreach efforts, tailored support for specific Veteran subpopulations, financial assistance, and access to housing networks.

They write, “Brighton Marine and Soldier On are committed to working on these recommendations and we will continue to develop important partnerships and efforts to address these issues. Our Veterans and their families deserve nothing less. As a Veteran Network Community, we invite any military and Veteran-focused organizations to contact us to continue the conversation and take action.”  

Read the full opinion piece here, originally published in The Berkshire Eagle on March 19, 2021.

This piece also appeared in the Springfield Republican via MassLive on March 31, 2021 and in the The Greenfield Reporter on April 22, 2021.

‍