Increased funding will include an additional $10,000 for increasing access to federal, state, and local suicide prevention resources.

The New Mexico Department of Veterans’ Services (DVS) will be receiving funding to expand its services and  programs, courtesy of the new $10.21 billion fiscal year 2025 state budget passed in the recently concluded 2024 New Mexico Legislature and signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on March 6.

DVS will receive $1.2 million for a feasibility study to develop a veterans’ service center in Albuquerque, located not far  from the Raymond G. Murphy VA Hospital. The idea is to provide veterans with a true “one-stop shop” facility that houses representatives from federal, state, and local agencies.

“We want to make it a lot easier for veterans and their families to get the help they need,” said DVS Cabinet  Secretary Jamison Herrera. “This veterans’ service center would eliminate the need for them to have to drive all over town, or trying to communicate by mail, email, or phone.”

In addition, the new state budget will also provide the following funds for the creation or expansion of the following DVS programs and services:

$175,000 to expand its state veterans’ transportation program.  This will allow DVS to expand the reach of its Highly Rural Veterans Transportation Program, which is a VA grant-funded program offering free round-trip rides to VA medical appointments for veterans in fifteen counties VA identifies as highly rural. The expanded program will begin offering this service to the remaining 18 counties in New Mexico.

$600,000 for the purchase of a four-wheel-drive mobile unit, and the hiring of two additional veterans’ service officers. This mobile team will travel to areas not readily served by VSOs in DVS field offices to help veterans file VA claims or apply for state veterans’ benefits.

$125,000 to develop a strategy and implement a program to help homeless veterans. DVS will work with other federal, state, and local/community agencies…and seek to improve services for veteran homelessness in rural and tribal areas.

$100,000  to fund the implementation of the Burial Equity Act here in New Mexico. This is a federal law that now allows members of the National Guard or Reserves, who were never federally activated for the minimum 90-days needed in order to receive a DD-214 upon completion of their service, to be buried with military honors and a  headstone at state veterans’ cemeteries. 

$150,000 to bolster the state Honor Guard program, which is managed by DVS. This will allow for the adding and training of additional honor guards—teams of all-volunteers from service organizations that render military honors at many funerals of veterans around the state. Each honor guard team receives a bugle, and a team stipend for each funeral. DVS holds two annual training conferences to ensure that honor guards render honors in a professional manner.       (continued on next page)

$3 million in capital outlay funds to help with expansion and maintenance at the three state veterans’ cemeteries in Angel Fire, Fort Stanton, and Gallup that are managed by DVS.

In addition to this funding through the state budget, legislators also passed House Bill 298, the Service Members  Suicide Prevention Act sponsored by State Representatives Eliseo Alcon, Harry Garcia, Tara Jaramillo, and Alan Martinez. The new state law allocates an additional $100,000 to DVS for raising statewide awareness of  suicide in the veteran community, and increasing access to federal, state, and local suicide prevention  resources.

“DVS would like to thank the legislators and Governor Lujan Grisham for their commitment to improving the lives of our veterans and their families,” said DVS Secretary Herrera. “We will be developing solid plans to put this funding to work, and will be releasing more details once they’re finalized.”