ALBANY, NY (WRGB) — In Rensselaer County, Carrie Farley has a Gold Star banner that hangs outside her home.
“So with that, I remember,” said Farley looking at the banner from her kitchen table.
It’s to keep her son Staff Sergeant Derek Farley’s memory alive; he died on active duty in Afghanistan in 2010.
It keeps my heart glowing and thinking of him, and I’m very thankful.
Carrie and other parents whose children died in combat receive a yearly check from the state through the Gold Star Parent Annuity Program. The annuity pays $500 per parent, up to $1,000 per deceased veteran.
The governor wants to expand the program to include those who died while on duty but not in combat and expand the program to deceased veterans spouses and children.
It’s something Carrie advocated for; “Abigail Jenks from the Capital Region, many remember Abigail Jenks. She died at a very young age; it was a training accident. Her mother doesn’t receive that, Mary. We need to make a change so that we’re all-inclusive.”
Expanding suicide prevention efforts is another push the state announced this week during the State of the State; Army veteran Anthony Kuhn, now an attorney at Tully Rinckey, says expanding these services is critical.
“It’s a big problem in the veteran community. many of those individuals have risk factors that make them more likely to commit suicide like PTSD, and depression,” said Kuhn. “It’s especially common with combat veterans.”
