HOLYOKE – On Tuesday evening, members of the Baker Administration presented an updated Holyoke Soldiers’ Home facility proposal to the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Board of Trustees. While previous plans called for a seven-story Home with 192 beds, the new plan calls for an additional story and increases the range of beds to 223-234.
Sen. John C. Velis, D-Westfield, who spearheaded a letter signed by 81 legislators last week urging Governor Charlie Baker to increase the original bed numbers, said that these changes were badly needed.
“Massachusetts veterans are going to depend on this new facility for decades to come and it is critical that the Home will have the capacity the Veteran community needs,” said Senator Velis. “We have to think about thirty years down the road, when a family is trying to get their loved one into the Home. This increase could be the reason that a veteran can get into the Home, instead of having to turn them away.”
In the letter to Baker, Velis noted several reasons for capacity at the Home should be increased, including the possibility of unknown military conflicts and the large number of National Guard and Reserve members who may achieve veterans status in the future. The letter also questioned why waitlist and application rates from during the pandemic were relied upon for the proposal, as these rates would be lower than in normal years. The 82 legislators from both parties who signed on asked the administration to conduct a more objective analysis of the needs of veterans.
“One hundred ninety-two beds was simply not going to be enough for our future veterans,” said SVelis. “While there is still a lot more to be done to ensure that the new Soldiers’ Home is everything our veterans deserve, I am incredibly grateful to the Administration for listening to this important community input and going back to the drawing board.”
With the Board of Trustees’ approval for the revised plan, the project now moves towards a April 15 State Home Construction Grant deadline, which must be met in order to secure federal funding.
