Empty buildings at the Montana Developmental Center would be a good base for a program to support veterans, a group of veterans told the Jefferson County Commission last week.
Ed Lesofski, who introduced himself as a veteran and the holder of a Master’s of Social Work degree, said the governmental agencies set up to serve veterans are not meeting the needs. It is well known that suicide rates among veterans in Montana are high. In 2017 there were 53 veteran suicides in the state. In addition, he said, vocational training is mostly conducted at colleges where the vets do not fare well.
“These vets get mixed in with all these kids that are calling them baby killers…and they just don’t make it,” Lesofski said.
For those reasons, he has been working through private programs, he said.
“There’s a ton of money out there if you do it right,” he said.
Lesofski has been working for years to support veterans. He backed a 2016 initiative to allow EMTs to be certified as emergency care providers, with the goal of helping veterans close to their homes, particularly those suffering PTSD or suicidal tendencies. After that initiative failed, he headed to the state legislature in 2017 for support. He asked for the certification for providers to visit veterans at home to provide wellness and emotional care. Backers of the bill said it would help reduce driving times and long waits for veteran services, but the bill did not make it out of the legislature.
Lesofski’s organization RIVER, the Rural Institute for Veteran Education and Research, previously opened a facility in Missoula in 2016. For a time the group had certification from the Montana Office of Public Instruction, and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau even cut the ribbon on the Missoula facility. The certification allowed veterans to use GI Bill funding for the program.
But that certification was revoked. Lesofski told the commission, “I’ve gone crossways with the Democrats.”
He said, “In the environment in this state, if you’re not a public entity they don’t understand why you should be doing anything with veterans.”
He told the commission he envisions a multi-jurisdictional operation with each participating county having a program focused on one vocation and then one central office for all of the operations. He also urged the commissioners to start with online education and authorize a healthcare facility for veterans and opium treatment. He said both could be started small and built upon.
Dan Colson, a veteran who has been a student in the RIVER program, told the commissioners that it was good for him. “I’ve just seen this program do wonderful things for vets,” he said.
Montana attracts a lot of retired veterans because it is sparsely populated, said Colson. “They come to Montana to hide,” he said.
Lesofski said he has talked to Matt Rosendale, the current Insurance Commissioner and candidate for U.S. Senate, who said he supports transferring unused MDC properties to the county. In addition, Lesofski said he spoke with Donald Trump, Jr. about his goals.
“My position,” said Commissioner Leonard Wortman, “is we need to do something for the veterans of this country.”
He added that the MDC facility would be “the perfect place for doing something for the veterans.”
Pointing to the veteran suicide rate, Lesofski said, “I don’t know where the answer lies, but it doesn’t lie at the state and it doesn’t lie in Washington.”
The commission agreed to form a committee to research the project further.
