Research Foundation of the City University of New York on behalf of Hunter College

Project for Return and Opportunity in Veterans Education (PROVE)

This NFL-BWF Healthy Lifestyles and Creating Community (HLCC) award will fund the critical operations of the PROVE program at ten NYC campuses. The funding will allow PROVE’s social work interns and field instructors to foster a supportive community for over 1,000 student veterans throughout the NYC area. Interns will increase veterans’ social connectivity, and reduce stressors that may lead to depression or even suicide.

PROVE ensures student veterans on City University of New York (CUNY) campuses and Fordham University have a successful educational journey by aiding them in their transition from the military to a college community. PROVE’s social work interns and experienced field instructors provide high-touch social and emotional support for student veterans. The interns also provide short-term crisis intervention, mental health counseling, and well-vetted referrals. Concurrently, the PROVE program trains those social work interns in the specific needs and concerns of the modern-day student veteran, thus increasing the military cultural competency of the next generation of social worker professionals. Many student veterans have experienced increased stress levels related to their education, loss of income, challenges accessing technology and internet, and increased feelings of social isolation, all of which can lead to higher rates of financial instability and food insecurity.