Great Lakes Wire

DETROIT, MI – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) on June 30 announced $57,619,290 in federal funding to support the construction of a new State Veterans Home in Marquette, Michigan to replace its existing D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans. The funding is provided through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) State Veterans Home Construction Grant Program. Peters has strongly advocated for funding the program, including during a hearing with VA Secretary Denis McDonough earlier this year and as a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies – where last week he helped advance funding for the program to be included in Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations legislation. Peters has annually led a bipartisan group of his colleagues in urging the Senate Appropriations Committee to provide robust funding for the program. The funding for Marquette’s new Veterans Home comes through the government funding bill enacted by Congress last December.

“Michigan veterans have sacrificed so much for our country, and it’s critical that we support them after their service,” said Senator Peters, a former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve. “This federal funding will allow construction to begin on a much-needed replacement for the State Veterans Home in Marquette to ensure veterans can access the high-quality care they deserve.”

“This is a generational investment in Michigan Veteran Homes, and in veterans of the Upper Peninsula. This funding will allow Michigan to provide excellent care and quality of life to U.P. veterans needing skilled nursing care for decades to come – in a home worthy of those who’ve worn the uniform,” said Anne Zerbe, Chief Executive Officer, Michigan Veteran Homes. “We’re excited, and incredibly grateful for the work and advocacy of so many in Washington that support our veterans, including Senator Gary Peters – a veteran, a tireless advocate of the State Veteran Home program, and a regular visitor at our Veteran Homes. His leadership, along with others, helped make this possible.”

The Michigan legislature recently appropriated funding for a long-overdue replacement of the State Veterans Home in Marquette, but groundbreaking was contingent on the project receiving a federal grant. This announcement will allow for construction to begin on the new facility.

State Veterans Homes are operated by state governments and partner with the VA to provide nursing home, domiciliary and adult day care services to veterans with special medical needs, including thousands of elderly veterans. Federal funds provided by the State Veterans Home Construction Grant Program allow states to make critical facility upgrades or construct new facilities to serve aging veteran populations.

More information on the State Veterans Home Construction Grant Program can be found here.

Original source can be found here