City Council has extended their hand to help veterans living in the Rhode Island Veterans Home in Bristol. The council unanimously approved a resolution introduced by Ward 3 Councilman Timothy Howe urging Governor Gina Raimondo not to raise the amount a veteran pays to live at the home.

“This is something I feel we all have to voice our opinion on. I realize this is a state issue, but [also] it’s a community issue,” Howe said.

Howe mentioned that the federal government gives a veteran compensation for disabilities attained while serving the country. He said the veteran receives that money, but if they are given 100 percent compensation, they pay the state 80 percent of it to live at the home. The governor’s proposal would take 100 percent a veteran’s income living at the home, but does allow a jump from $150 to $300 in stipends. 

Brenna McCabe, Director of Public Affairs for the R.I. Department of Administration, said, “The Governor is proposing that 100 percent of veterans’ income be put into a restricted account to support the home they live in so that we can continue to maintain a place that best meets their health and safety needs.”

Howe said that the state is taking money from its residents to fund a home they have already committed to run for disabled veterans.

“This is basically using the veteran as a conduit just for more federal funding,” Howe said. “It’s just putting the burden once again on the most vulnerable citizens.”

Each council member volunteered to co-sponsor the resolution and Councilman Howe, a U.S. Army veteran himself, was personally thanked by some members of the council for proposing it.

Ward 5 councilor Ed Ladouceur is a former U.S. Marine. He said this resolution is much more than words on a piece of paper.

“I think this is particularly important that you, as a combat veteran, sponsored this resolution,” Ladouceur said. “You know what it takes. You know the pain and suffering. And it is because of our veterans such as yourself and all of those veterans that are in that Veteran’s Home…that we’re able to sit here and have these debates that we have.”

The committee pushed the resolution through to the City Council meeting, where it was approved 9-0.

“This whole situation is ridiculous, the fact that it exists in the first place. I applaud [Howe] for putting this forward,” Councilman Anthony Sinapi said. 

On Wednesday, Mayor Joseph J. Solomon acknowledged that the state does need to make some cuts, but it should not be at the expense of veterans. Solomon said he thinks the council made a great decision in urging the governor not to increase the cost of residency for veterans at the home.

 "I support that," he said. "I'm with 110 percent with [them]."