Support the veterans home in Anna

To the editor,

Concerns were expressed over continued state funding for the Anna Veterans Home. Our representatives in Springfield are considering closing the home and moving our veterans to a facility in Northern Illinois to cut costs.

Illinois is in fiscal difficulties and has been unable to fund many projects already approved. However, closing the Anna Veterans Home is not the way to help balance the budget. This facility is approximately 10 years old; closing it would be a waste of already spent taxpayers’ money.

Of greater importance than financial considerations is the grave disservice the closing would do to the men and women who call this facility home. They sacrificed for our country; when called to serve they were there for all of us.

Now it is our turn to be there for them. They made the decision to serve in spite of disruptions to their personal lives, or their financial situations.

We must insure that our representatives know that Anna, Union County and Southern Illinois want our veterans here, close to family and friends, in the facility built specifically for them.

In addition to providing quality care to our veterans, the excellent nurses and support staff benefit from employment in this economically strapped region of Southern Illinois.

Our group, The Others, recently had the privilege of meeting some of the men and women who reside at the Anna Veterans Home. One of the stated purposes of our organization is community service.

In that capacity we have been entertaining at both the Jonesboro Healthcare and the Anna Veterans Home and are members of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. Our way of giving back is to take entertainment to those who find it difficult to come out into the community.

We encourage Southern Illinois to support our veterans and the veterans home by signing petitions and writing letters. Help keep our honored vets and their families here in Southern Illinois. Join with us, sign the petitions circulating through the community. Make your wishes known.

Signed, Barbara Steffens, Tamms, on behalf of The Others