AUGUSTA, Maine — On Thursday, Maine's congressional delegation announced that the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has approved the construction of a new 24-bed program to provide residential substance use disorder rehabilitation and treatment to Maine veterans.
Rep. Jared Golden has been advocating for a long-term mental health and substance use disorder treatment facility in Maine since as early as June 2019. He, along with Rep. Chellie Pingree and Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, released the following statement Thursday in response to the approved funding.
Maine veterans, particularly those with the unseen wounds of war, deserve to receive care here in our state. But for years, veterans who needed treatment for substance use disorder and associated mental health issues for more than one night have been sent to other states, far from their family, friends, and support system. We’ve been working with the VA to right this wrong and we are very pleased to announce that a new 24-bed residential program to treat substance use disorder is soon coming to Togus.
Construction on the facility is scheduled to begin in 2021. It is scheduled to begin accepting patients in 2022.
