Budget includes funding to reduce veteran homelessness and suicide prevention
State Rep. Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor) chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military and Veteran Affairs and State Police in Lansing on April 18, 2023.
LANSING, Mich., April 18, 2023 — The Appropriations Subcommittee on Military and Veteran Affairs and State Police reported its proposed 2023-24 budget for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs today. The budget includes $5 million to establish a new program that will provide $150,000 grants to nonprofit organizations to provide, or assist in providing, housing for homeless veterans and their families. It would also invest over $1 million to continue an outreach campaign to current and former servicemembers and their families to reduce suicide.
“This budget makes significant strides toward providing Michigan veterans with the support they need and deserve,” said state Rep. Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor), chair of the subcommittee. “Homelessness and suicide are two of the direst issues our veterans confront, and this budget makes significant investments in addressing both.”
According to data compiled by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, between 2014 and 2020, an average of 176 Michigan veterans died by suicide, a rate much higher than that of non-veterans. Thousands of veterans experience homelessness in Michigan each year.