Goshen, N.Y. – Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus has named Assistant District Attorney Matt Healy as April’s Citizen of the Month Award recipient.
Healy was recognized for his outreach to local veterans and for passionately advocating for them.
“Matt is a proud veteran and has worked tirelessly as an advocate for our service members,” Neuhaus said. “His passion for serving these men and women is evident in everything he does. Matt’s hard work and dedication have raised awareness about our service members and the challenges they face. Matt proudly works behind the scenes, but he deserves this recognition.”
Healy has worked for the District Attorney’s Office for 22 years, serving in a variety of roles. For the past 18 months, Healy has played an integral part in District Attorney David M. Hoovler’s community affairs unit, building a strong working relationship with the Castle Point VA Medical Center. Healy recently spearheaded a project that has assisted veterans in navigating the criminal justice system and dealing with re-entry into civilian life, and he helped to start the Orange County Veterans Suicide Prevention Coalition with Carl Lofaro, the Community Engagement and Partnership Coordinator with the VA at Castle Point and Montrose.
Under Healy’s guidance, the County has reached out to more than 400 stores and locations in promoting veteran well-being and helping veterans reacclimate into civilian life. Healy was inspired to assist veterans through his own service in the U.S. Army from 1979-82 as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division. He was also moved by the many publicized suicides after U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August of last year.
According to military.com, when the Taliban swept across Afghanistan and seized Kabul in August of 2021, anguished U.S. veterans reached out to the Department of Veterans Affairs' crisis hotline (1-800-273-8255), sending double the number of texts and 40 percent more chat messages than had been received during the same period a year earlier.
“Matt Healy has gone above and beyond in standing up for Orange County’s veterans,” Lofaro said. “He is personally responsible for the placement of Veteran Crisis Line information, other suicide prevention and mental health resources, and gunlocks in over 200 businesses and government offices. Community members and local businesses are saving lives and Matt is making sure they have the resources to do that.”
An avid outdoorsman, Healy has also run the District Attorney’s youth fishing contest the last two years in which Hoovler began to outreach to children and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Neuhaus introduced his Citizen of the Month Award, which acknowledges outstanding Orange County residents, in January of 2017. To nominate someone for the Citizen of the Month Award, please email ceoffice@orangecountygov.com or mail a letter to “Citizen of the Month” at 255-275 Main Street Goshen, N.Y. 10924. Be sure to include the nominee’s name, hometown, a list of their accomplishments, why you are nominating them, and any other pertinent information.
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