06/16/2008, 11:58 am
Comment on this story | Print this story
Scott Reeder,
sng@springnet1.com, 217-525-8201
State Sen. Debbie Halvorson is concerned a new program to help homeless veterans could fall victim to the state budget crisis.
"I'm very worried about the governor cutting that money right out of the budget," the Democrat from Crete said. "Every day, George W. Bush is creating more and more war veterans. We have an obligation to help these returning veterans."
The program at Manteno Veterans Home is quite small, but Halvorson contends the program is significant.
Halvorson said she used her clout as Senate majority leader to boost possible funding for the program by $800,000 in the budget year that begins Tuesday, July 1. That would put total funding for the program at $1.7 million.
But the $29 billion spending plan the Legislature approved calls for spending at least $2 billion more than the state is expected to receive in revenues.
And there's the rub. The state will either have to come up with more revenue or cut spending to balance the budget.
The Legislature may be called back in session to discuss the budget or Blagojevich could choose to act unilaterally by using his veto powers to reduce spending.
Either way, newer programs such as the outreach to homeless veterans may be vulnerable.
"We are going to have to make some incredibly difficult decisions in the coming weeks. Any program that is not one of the governor's key priorities is vulnerable," said Kelley Quinn, a spokeswoman for the Governor's Office of Management and Budget.
She added those priorities are health care and education.
Quinn declined to comment on whether the homeless veterans program is vulnerable.
The residential facility is called the Prince Home and opened in January.
It has a capacity of 15. So far, the program has served seven veterans, said Deanna Mackey, program director for homeless and displaced veterans.
Of those veterans, some served in Iraq, others in Vietnam and still others during peacetime, she said.
"I wouldn't say there is a connection between being homeless and being a veteran," Mackey said. "I would say that some of the things a soldier, Marine or serviceman experiences makes it more difficult to work back into society and can help produce a homeless person.
"They see many things that a normal American doesn't see. There can be trauma to their minds or to their psyche," she said. "They may be experiencing nightmares or flashbacks about things they have done that have disturbed their psyche and find it hard to regroup."
The program targets underlying issues that made individuals homeless.
"A residential facility gives them a sense of peace," Mackey said. "They know they have some place to lay their heads. They don't have to worry about where their next meal is coming from. Homelessness is a symptom of other problems. We try to address those problems -- things like mental health or substance abuse."
Can we get this out to liberal radio press?