Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers attended a roundtable discussion in Superior on March 20 to hear concerns from Douglas County veterans. The roundtable discussion took place at the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center and was hosted by the Douglas County Veterans Service Office.
Gov. Evers and Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary James Bond listened to local veterans and their concerns for Douglas County Veterans after discussing investments included in Evers $4.1 billion Budget Proposal towards helping veterans.
Gov. Evers looks around the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center with volunteer Debbie Ritzinger and Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary James Bond. Photo by Maddie Schaffer | The Promethean
“I’d have a veteran come into the office and wanted help, and that’s huge right there. That’s half the battle,” said Brian Erickson a retired Navy veteran and former veterans service officer for Douglas County. Erickson said the closest hospital that he was able to send veterans struggling with substance abuse was the AV hospital in Minneapolis. He shares that he struggled to get support from the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs to build facilities for veterans struggling with homelessness, substance abuse, or mental health issues.
Gov. Evers executive budget includes expanding access to mental health services, affordable housing, and offering property tax re lief for Wisconsin’s 300,000 veterans. “I’ve been doing these conversations with veterans and it’s different in different places but, there are some commonalities, one of them is mental health and one of them is housing,” said Evers. “I think we can get something done it’s just a matter of people sitting down and there’s a lot of energy here so I’m hopeful.”
Evers and Bond also visited the Veterans Outreach of Wisconsin in Racine and the Ho-Chunk Nation Three Rivers House in La Crosse earlier that day. According to Wisconsin Public Radio, Republicans on a state building commission rejected his capital projects on March 26, which lead to no recommendation from the commission as the proposal heads to the Legislature’s GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee.
