GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It has been a difficult year for Michigan veterans who are isolated from the outside world due COVID-19, but that isolation is especially difficult during the holidays.
With visits curtailed, a card or letter mailed to Michigan’s two veteran homes will help vets know they are not forgotten, advocates say.
“They just need to know that they’re wanted by somebody on God’s Earth,’’ says Mike Kloet, a U.S. Army veteran in Grand Rapids. “A lot of these guys who live at the home don’t have family anymore.’’
Michigan Veteran Homes recently launched the “Make a Veteran Smile’’ campaign. It encourages Michigan residents to spread holiday cheer to residents of Michigan’s two veteran homes; one in Grand Rapids and the other in Marquette.
Cards can be mailed to:
Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, 3000 Monroe Ave. NE. Grand Rapids, MI. 49505.
D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans 425 Fisher St. Marquette, MI. 49855.
Write on the envelope - ATTN: Make A Vet Smile.
Kloet stays in contact with friends at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. Face-to-face visits are out; he relies on phone calls. This time of year, cards are especially appreciated, he said.
“Now, it’s come down to cards, notes,’’ Kloet said. “We have a way of helping friends that live there, it lets them know they aren’t forgotten.’’
Tony Spallone is a resident of the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans; he and Kloet are longtime friends. He said the inability to leave the facility is disheartening, to say the least.
“It gets lonely; there’s no outside contact,’’ he said. “Christmas cards – that’s nice. Some of these guys have no one.’’
Kloet says he believes cards sent to veterans from total strangers will be meaningful and appreciated.
“They really need some attention now, just to carry them through the holidays, or this can add to the depression that a lot of them have already,’’ Kloet said.
Fred Schaible, a spokesman for Michigan Veteran Homes, says window visits and other forms of contact have been curtailed in Grand Rapids due to the spike in COVID-19 cases. The Grand Rapids facility as of Wednesday, Dec. 16 had 39 veterans on its COVID ward, which represents about 25% of the resident population.
The D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans in Marquette is not experiencing a COVID outbreak; there are no residents active in its COVID unit, state records show.
Schaible said the Marquette facility has about 130 residents while the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans has about 155 residents.
“If you have it in you to send a card, a holiday card at this time, and you want to send one to the home, we’ll make sure it gets to a resident who may not have family during this time,’’ he said. “Anything you can do to show your support is greatly appreciated.’’
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