Veterans must find new place to live

Eighty-one veterans, all with health problems, have been told they must find another place to live by Nov. 30 because budget cuts are forcing the state to close the Milledgeville domiciliary unit at the Georgia War Veterans Home.

The Georgia Department of Veterans Affairs has proposed saving $2.7 million out of its budget by closing the domiciliary, which resembles an old college dorm with communal dining room near the lobby.

Assistant Commissioner Len Glass said about half the displaced veterans will go either to the state veterans hospital units that provide full nursing care or to the federal Veteran’s Administration’s domiciliary in Dublin. He said the agency was helping the rest of the veterans find new homes — maybe with relatives or friends.

Glass said this cut was proposed in response to Gov. Sonny Perdue’s mandate that every agency submit plans to cut their budgets by 6 percent, 8 percent and 10 percent as revenues continue to fall.

“Those 81 veterans represent .0001 percent of the total [Georgia] veteran population,” Glass said, adding that there were about 750,000 veterans in Georgia.

To qualify for the free room and board at the facility, residents must be war veterans who have a medical problem but do not require nursing care. The average age is 64 ½; the youngest resident is 53 and the oldest is 89.

Alarmed legislators have scheduled a meeting in Milledgeville for Friday.

Sen. John Douglas (R-Social Circle), chairman of the Veterans, Military and Homeland Security Committee, said the suggested cut in the agency’s $25.7 million budget, which is supplemented with federal funds, had not been approved. He said the Milledgeville meeting would give legislators a chance to “listen to the human side” of the proposed cut.

Senate Democratic Leader Robert Brown of Macon accused Republicans of abandoning veterans.

“The sound of Republican patriotic rhetoric praising our veterans rings hollow in Georgia,” Brown said in a written statement. “Georgia Republicans add insult to injury by ordering some of our most vulnerable veterans to celebrate Veteran’s Day this November [11] by packing their bags and joining the homeless…. It’s shameful for Georgia to cast aside veterans, especially at [a] time the United States is at war.”

Glass said none of the domiciliary residents will be pushed out of the domiciliary with no place to go. Glass broke the news to the men Friday. He said they “took it better” than he expected.

Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley, dismissed the criticisms and said the governor is trusting agency heads to suggest spending cuts that will do the least damage. “They know the publics they serve,” Brantley said.