- Mississippi now has five facilities for veterans, serving 700.
- The home offers private rooms, dining rooms, activity rooms, a chapel and specialized therapy.
- Mississippi is home to approximately 180,000 veterans.
Taking care of an aging family member can be stressful. Add to that the special needs of military veterans, especially those who have been in combat, can be nearly impossible.
Veterans in Mississippi and their families can breathe a little easier now that a new home for veterans is opening.
A celebration was held on April 11 for the opening of the Vito J. Canizaro Mississippi Veterans Home at Tradition, the fifth long-term care facility for veterans in the state.
The state's other veterans homes are located in Collins, Jackson, Kosciusko and Oxford.
Veterans homes are operated at the state level, with each state determining the criteria for their homes, according to Veterans Affairs.
The homes are designed to provide geriatric care for aging veterans and specialized care for veterans with disabilities.
The five homes are able to accommodate around 600 veterans between them. The Tradition home will add another 100.-
Max Fenn, chair of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board, welcomed guests to the event.
"This is a day of celebration for our agency," he said.
The home has private rooms, multiple dining rooms, activity rooms, communal spaces, a chapel, specialized therapy and more.
Fenn said Mississippi is home to about 180,000 veterans, some of whom are receiving or may need longterm care.
Work on the Tradition veterans home was started under former Gov. Phil Bryant's administration. Bryant was able to secure a location with the help of developer Joseph Canizaro, who founded the Tradition community.
Canizaro donated 25 acres for the veterans home, which is named after his father, Dr. Vito Canizaro, a Navy veteran.
Joseph Canizaro's grandson Ryan Lopiccolo, who spoke during the ribbon-cutting, said his grandfather was watching the ceremony remotely.
"On a very personal note, my family and I want to express our deepest gratitude for the extraordinary honor of naming this building after my great-grandfather, Dr. Vito J. Canizaro," Lopiccolo said. "He was a man of service, compassion and strength. To see his legacy carried forward in a place dedicated to caring for those who served this country is truly humbling. This tribute means more than words can express."
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins attended the ceremony at the urging of Bryant, who told Collins about the home at an event in D.C. last November.
"He pulled out a picture of this facility and he said, 'We're are going to open this in the spring and you've got to be there,'" Collins said.
"This is about service in a way that means more than just a moment," Collins said. "We work with our states and your governors, and when we have a facility like this that says, 'In those years, when you may need a little bit of extra help, guess what? We're still there.' We don't forget anybody. We leave nobody behind."
To learn more
The Vito J. Canizaro Mississippi Veterans Home at Tradition is taking applications for residents.
The home is located at 11721 Tradition Parkway in Biloxi.
For more information, visit the Mississippi Veterans Affairs website at msva.ms.gov/homes or call 228-295-7444.
Lici Beveridgeis a reporter for the Hattiesburg American and Clarion Ledger. Contact her at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on X @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.
