State awards $2 million to Home Base Florida. What to know

The state has boosted funding to a nonprofit organization that helps veterans with the “invisible wounds of war,” enabling more veterans to benefit and move on with their lives.

The Legislature has allocated $2 million for 2025 to Home Base Florida , which provides clinical care, mental health, wellness support and other services to veterans in the region.

The funding is $500,000 more than what the state allocated in 2024.

More: Are veterans getting their due in Naples? What's here, what's coming and what's needed

The $2 million means Home Base Florida can expand into Pensacola, grow its outpatient and telehealth services along with an existing fitness program, and help launch traumatic brain injury services.

Locally a share of the money will go toward the organization’s programs in Collier and Lee counties and benefit an estimated 230 veterans, according to Armando Hernandez, senior director of the Florida organization.

How many veterans live in SWFL?

Lee is home to roughly 52,000 veterans while Collier has about 23,000 veterans, according to 2023 data from the state Department of Health.

The number of veterans moving to the region and Florida is increasing while the need for services grows, according to veterans’ organizations. The Florida Department of Veteran Affairs says 1.4 million veterans live in the state.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affair s is stepping up to help needy veterans in Florida and elsewhere.

The federal VA announced Aug. 16 the award of nearly $55 million in grants in Florida to connect homeless and at-risk veterans to supportive services.

What does Home Base Florida do?

Home Base Florida is part of a national nonprofit started by Massachusetts General Hospital and the Boston Red Sox. It is dedicated to treating the invisible wounds of war, which include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, loss, grief and more.

Besides clinical care, Home Base provides wellness-based programs and peer support. It has partnerships in the region with Florida Gulf Coast University, the YMCA, Lee Health and Tampa General Hospital.  The local partners get specialized training through Home Base to address the specific needs of veterans.

State Rep. Lauren Melo, R- Naples, and state Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, a U.S. Army veteran, helped secure the money for Home Base.

Home Base Florida partners with which SWFL agencies?

Some of the state funding in Collier will go to Home Base’s partnership with David Lawrence Center, a nonprofit mental health provider, and to Lee Health in Lee to provide mental health services to veterans.

Also benefitting is Home Base’s “Warrior Health and Fitness” program which uses space at the Naples YMCA and at Florida Gulf Coast University in Lee.

The 90-day program, offered at no charge to veterans, provides supervised physical exercise, nutrition, stress management and promotes a healthy lifestyle for veterans.

Home Base’s partnership model in Southwest Florida will be replicated in new locations in Tampa and in the Panhandle, where the flagship Warrior program has already been launched.

Working with Tampa General Hospital, a traumatic brain injury service with specialized care will be offered for veterans with mild to moderate brain injuries.

In Pensacola, Home Base is working with Lakeview Center to provide behavioral health services to veterans in the North Florida region of the state.

For more information about Home Base, visit homebase.org/programs/florida/ .

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: State awards $2 million to Home Base Florida. What to know