Committee holds over request to help fund veteran's housing, services provider

Eagle's Healing Nest in Sauk Centre provides housing and services to help heal the invisible wounds of war for about 60 military veterans. Stearns County, which supports their mission by supplying case management and related services, seeks to recoup about $170,000 it estimates it will spend in the next biennium to provide those services.

Rep. Paul Anderson

HF1296, sponsored by Rep. Paul Anderson (R-Starbuck), would provide $85,000 to the county each year of the next biennium in the form of a Department of Human Services grant. The House Health and Human Services Finance Committee laid the bill over Wednesday for possible inclusion in its omnibus finance bill.

Sen. Torrey Westrom (R-Elbow Lake) sponsors a companion, SF1428, which awaits action by the Senate Health and Human Services Budget Division.

Demand for services has the nonprofit facility seeking to increase the number of people served, which include veterans from outside Stearns County and the state, according to Mark Sizer, Stearns County human services administrator. The county provides mental health and chemical dependency screenings, detox services, adult protection and civil commitment, court-ordered supervision and more programs to the individuals living at the veteran-centered facility.

Eagle’s Healing Nest operates under a large network of volunteers and peer helpers and has no paid staff. Its outreach is “unorthodox, in a good way,” said Committee Chair Rep. Matt Dean (R-Dellwood).