Grand Rapids Home for Veterans - Crime in progress part 9

"We are doing the best we can do."
That was the answer today at the Rankin 2 and 3 Member council meeting when the issue of heating the smoking area was brought up.

Under Granholm, Michigan passed a law that said there is to be no smoking in public areas and hospitals, however, there could be an exemption for retirement homes and such places.
Grand Rapids Home for Veterans (GRH4V) was supposed to get an exemption. Prior to the law being passed, each unit had one room, where members were responsible for its cleanup, where they could go to smoke.

Then the law got passed and a special area was set aside for smokers, out side on the Pavlovian. This area was to be heated, and enclosed.

GRH4V had it reported as being built, but when a state senator came over, and saw it was not even started, CRAP hit the fan and within 3 days it was built - minus the heaters. All the materials and labor were DONATED by outside volunteers. This did not cost the home one red cent.

THEN, they waited until February to get the heaters installed - but not running. This was after the person who donated them was contacted, and we were told that the heaters had been sitting on his dock for 2 months - and that he was waiting for a call to come in and install them.

After they were installed, they did not get the heaters certified until JUNE of this year! So last year we sent over 60 veterans to the hospital for exposure related illnesses and we didn't get 60 back. We guess we lost about 40 due to pneumonia or exposure related illnesses from having to go outside to an unheated area to have their tobacco.

The purpose of having this smoking area, was to satisfy the state requirement of NO smoking within the building, do to the fact 2 Governors now ( Granholm and Snyder) have failed to sign the exemption that would give us back our smoking rooms.

To only allow the heat to be turned on from 6am to 10pm defeats its purpose. We have people here that are up and about 24/7, at all times of the night and day. Staff members go out to have their smokes, members go out to have theres. Why should they have to spend another winter freezing their arses off?

GRH4V 's administration should be held for accessory for the deaths of the veterans we lost last year, and charged with manslaughter if any die of it this year.

UPDATE:
One of the members talked to me today about his recent meeting with one of the social workers. He mentioned that the members were angered that the heat was off, and they felt they shouldn't have to tell the staff to leave it on - For the purpose of the outside area was to have a WARM area for people to go to to smoke. This all boils down to "feel good politics". Todays political scene is one that is smoke free, and it appears that the actions of the politicians are, that smokers are deemed to be parasites on society. Therefore no money or funding will be spent to support them or their habits. Even if that money is going for heat to keep them warm when they are outside. In other words, the politicians (and staff) could care less if we freeze our arses off during the winter when we have to go outside. And yet this place is supposed to be FOR the Veterans.

I think its clear. This administration is here to get a paycheck and does not care at all about the Veterans other than as much as it takes to keep them here so that these people have a job. The actions of the administration clearly show that they hear what they want to hear, and care only about keeping the system going so that they have a job - at the expense of the Veterans.

When told that the members are getting ready to have a protest of a "smoke in", the counselor told the member that anyone of his people who participated in the smoke in, would be kicked out, even if it meant that every member of a unit got kicked out. In other words, the Veterans would pay a price, would be thrown out on the street, if they exercised their right to protest.

The same counselor argued with the guy who told him that members were thinking that they should have to tell the staff, (administration) to keep the heat on in the smoking area. Many feel its common sense to keep it on.. I mean why bother putting it up at all if you are not going to keep it heated, right? The member was trying to tell the counselor what the members were thinking and the highly paid college educated idiot counselor was arguing with him over it! Proof that the administration hears what it wants to hear, regardless of the circumstances or the situation.

And that is why Grand Rapids Home for Veterans will fail, and why there is a crime in progress here. The crime is against the veterans by the administration with the blessings of the State congress who will not address the administration problem.