- August 13, 2001
$69,000 in Federal Funds Awarded For Delaware Veterans Assistance
WILMINGTON, DE – Delaware veterans will see some important improvements in transportation services and at the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery thanks to two federal grants announced today by U.S. Senators Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and Tom Carper. Delaware’s Office of the Secretary of State will receive $50,000 in federal funding to make improvements to the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Bear, and the Home of the Brave Foundation will receive $19,100 to provide transportation outreach services to homeless veterans in Kent and Sussex counties. Delaware’s 52-acre Veterans Memorial Cemetery, dedicated on October 15, 1989, was constructed with more than $1.5 million in Federal funds. The new $50,000 grant will be used for infrastructure enhancements, specifically improved water management and increased parking accessibility. “Over the past decade, this cemetery has become an important part of our State’s history. It is a fine tribute to all of the brave Delawareans buried there who selflessly served our country with honor and distinction,” said Senator Biden. Biden, a strong supporter of the 1998 State Cemetery Grant Program that provided this funding, said that “This grant will help ensure that these veterans’ final resting place befits the high caliber of the service they rendered to our great nation.” “The freedom our nation enjoys today exists in no small part because of the triumphs of our veterans,” said Carper, a fellow veteran and retired Navy Captain. “The Veterans Memorial Cemetery honors their lives in a way that few other tributes can.” Senators Biden and Carper also announced a $19,100 grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to Delaware’s Home of the Brave Foundation, Inc. Home of the Brave’s goal is to promote increased quality of life by providing health services to Delaware veterans in Kent and Sussex counties. This grant will be used to purchase a 14-passenger van in order to facilitate outreach efforts to homeless veterans and to provide transportation from the shelter to jobs, social services, medical care, counseling, legal aid and housing assistance. “Delaware’s Home of the Brave Foundation has done an outstanding job of providing innovative, comprehensive services that will allow homeless veterans to support themselves. I am pleased they received this Federal aid to help expand their services to veterans in Kent and Sussex counties,” said Senator Biden. “This federal grant will allow homeless veterans in Kent and Sussex a practical way to get to work. It offers affordable housing, doctors and counseling,” Carper said. “These basic building blocks help preserve these veterans’ sense of dignity, and is a meaningful step towards self sufficiency.”