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(The Center Square) — The first leader of Massachusetts’ pair of Soldiers Home facilities discussed how his new office is working to fulfill its mission after a series of pandemic-related tragedies have rocked the institution in recent years.
Jon Santiago, installed as Massachusetts’ veterans secretary within Gov. Maura Healey’s Cabinet, discussed his visions for the Soldiers Home facilities in Chelsea and Holyoke at a hearing of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Ways and Means.
“The goals come down to one thing: How do we rebuild trust in our veteran’s community?” Santiago said in the testimony he provided to the legislative panel. “We have a whole host of issues that need to be addressed.”
At the onset of COVID-19 three years ago, reports of widespread deaths within the two facilities surfaced. Ultimately, a report linked the coronavirus to 78 deaths at the Holyoke facility and 31 at Chelsea.
As veterans secretary, Santiago will have more day-to-day oversight of such venues as the Soldiers Home facilities. Previously, the venues were a division under the auspices of the state’s broader Health and Human Services Department.
Santiago was one of nine Cabinet-level officials who provided testimony to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means during Tuesday’s hearing. Lawmakers in both chambers of the Legislature heard from the agency staffers as fiscal year 2024 budget discussions continue.
Many of the presentations and deliberations between the agency heads and committee members were more about looking back – and ahead – at department initiatives, rather than simple dollars and cents within the state’s broader operating budget.
In the case of Massachusetts’ veterans affairs budget, Healey has proposed a $106.5 million spending plan that includes such initiatives as homeless outreach services, efforts to mitigate workforce shortages and facilities needs – including the new community living center at the Chelsea facility.
Mary Sheehan, interim commissioner of the state’s Department of Transitional Assistance, also provided testimony during the four-and-a-half-hour hearing.
The agency is grappling with a series of widespread challenges, Sheehan said, including a sunset of heightened federal financial assistance through the SNAP benefits program. Transitional assistance services today are 43% higher than they were prepandemic, Sheehan said.
Fraud from recipients’ food assistance cards has also been on the rise as scammers have placed readers in point-of-sale and ATM machines to read card numbers, withdraw money and make unlawful purchases.
“This is large-scale. It is a nationwide issue,” said Sheehan, who indicated her office is working with state and federal law enforcement to seek solutions and retribution. “These aren’t onesies.”
As has been the case with many areas of the U.S., Massachusetts has experienced an influx of refugees in recent years.
Mary Truong, executive director and commissioner with the state’s Office for Refugees and Immigrants, provided a snapshot into the agency’s efforts to help people in both classifications acclimate into communities across Massachusetts.
To date, Truong said most of the office has worked on settlement efforts for people from Afghanistan and Haiti. More than 300 refugees and migrants have come to Massachusetts in recent years.
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This article First appeared in the center square
