In a letter addressed to the City University of New York (CUNY) Board of Trustees Council Member Joseph C. Borelli (R-South Shore) is asking for their assistance in transforming CUNY schools across the city into open-access centers of development for New Yorkers of all backgrounds through the implementation of a policy of barrier-free access to mental health courses for any veteran of the United Stated military, regardless of their education level or financial capacity.

Some of the most common barriers preventing veterans from accessing the pool of resources provided by our world-class CUNY facilities include course prerequisites and, for older veterans, financial constraints; any steps we can take toward a truly open-access educational and development model at our city universities will be greatly appreciated by both the United States veterans that call New York City home and the current students at CUNY campuses whose experiences will be further enriched by them.

“We can better achieve our mutual goals of removing barriers to education and innovating ways to provide support not only by creating new institutions and implementing new programs, but also by utilizing and leveraging the programs and institutions that already exist by creating geographically static, reliable centers of learning and personal development that are available to as large a segment of the population as financially and physically possible,” said Borelli.