The new Southwest Montana Veterans' Home welcomed its first resident Monday. The grand opening is a big deal in Butte, where regional veterans have waited nearly 30 years for a facility to call their own.
80-year-old Bill Davis is the first of what will eventually be 60 veterans to call the $20 million facility home.
Former State Sen. Jon Sesso says southwest Montana vets needed a place to call their own.
"Well over a third of the 100,000 veterans in Montana live in the southwestern part of the state, so this really gives a good geographical mix to where the veterans live by population in our state."
The Southwest Montana Veterans' Home is the newest of three such facilities for veterans in Montana. The others are in Glendive and Columbia Falls.
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, called the new veterans' home in a press release a "state-of-the-art" facility.
Gov. Greg Gianforte was among local officials and veterans groups to welcome the first resident in Butte to the home.
The Montana Legislature is considering a $3 million proposal to fund construction of enclosed walkways between the facility’s five housing cottages. A fundraising effort is also underway to build a sixth cottage, which Sesso says would provide residents with Alzheimer’s care.
