Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey | facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=567080511433741&set=pb.100043953917865.-2207520000.&type=3
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey | facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=567080511433741&set=pb.100043953917865.-2207520000.&type=3
Gov. Doug Ducey thinks it’s time for the state to pay back the veterans and first responders who have done so much in service to the public.
He recently announced that more than $26 million would be spent on programs to support their mental health and well-being.
“In Arizona, we work every day to give back to our selfless veterans and first responders who have given us so much,” Ducey said in a release.
The $26 million will fund three programs, including Heal the Hero Foundation ($20 million), Boulder Crest Foundation ($1.8 million) and Unite Us ($4.7 million), the release said.
“We’ve removed barriers for these brave men and women to succeed while increasing options available to care for their well-being,” Ducey said. “These investments build upon our actions to connect veterans and first responders with mental health services.”
The agencies that received the money expressed gratitude.
“Arizona’s communities rely on first responders in their worst moments, and our programs help Arizona’s first responders be their best in those moments,” Joe Holmes, CEO of Heal the Hero Foundation, said in the governor’s office release. “We are grateful to Gov. Ducey for this incredible investment in the well-being of our first responders.”
That was a sentiment echoed by the other two groups.
“We know our veterans and first responders are heroes, but it doesn’t make them superhuman,” Ken Falke, founder and chairman of Boulder Crest Foundation, said in the release. “They are often confronted with mental health challenges when they return from service. We’re pleased to work with Gov. Ducey in providing much-needed support for our nation’s heroes.”
A Unite Us representative said the allocation will go a long way to making Arizona a “veteran-friendly” state.
“We’re proud to contribute to Arizona’s ecosystem of support to veterans and their families,” Taylor Justice, co-founder and president of Unite Us, said. “Thank you to Gov. Ducey for his leadership in reducing recidivism and making Arizona a veteran-friendly state.”
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