Morano asks about unique trauma treatment needs for LGBTQ veterans

I have a couple of questions related to mental health and health care in general, including the bill that we're hearing today that I've introduced.

Commissioner, your testimony referenced discrimination, social isolation, military sexual trauma, and mental health challenges.

Are there trauma treatment needs that are unique to LGBTQ plus veterans that aren't being adequately addressed by existing programs?

Yes.

So we believe that there are different challenges that are unique to this community that are not being addressed by the services available by the VA, especially given some of the policies that have came out.

We were in close conversation specifically.

with the Staten Island Pride Center about the different therapies that are available that are non-traditional in the sense that this may not be something that the VA is actively promoting, that they're able to leverage even, you know, even though it's not veteran specific, they're able to utilize it.

So those are conversations that we have started in regards to different treatments that may be available that maybe the VA isn't providing.