Alaska Pioneer Home resident Phyllis Woodman, right, receives a cone of ice cream from employee Myra Kalbaugh during the home’s weekly ice cream social on Friday, March 8, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Alaska Pioneer Home resident Phyllis Woodman, right, receives a cone of ice cream from employee Myra Kalbaugh during the home’s weekly ice cream social on Friday, March 8, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Voices of the Peninsula: Dunleavy turned his back on our veterans and pioneers

Some folks at Pioneer Homes were told that their monthly bill could go above $15,000 per month.

When my dad got the letter telling him that he’d need to find $12,000 a month to stay at the Pioneer Vet Home, he had no idea what to make of it. At 90, he has dementia and is easily confused, and became upset when he understood that there was no way in the world he could come up with that much money, about twice the monthly rate he pays now. Some folks at Pioneer Homes were told that their monthly bill could go above $15,000 per month. No matter what their letters said, every one of those residents — the folks that saw our state through statehood and helped to build Alaska — didn’t feel as safe after they got those letters than they felt before they got them.

As his daughter, I don’t feel very safe either. The Dunleavy Administration said that nobody is going to get thrown out of Pioneer Homes, but his track record on caring about Alaska’s older folks fails to reassure me. We watched while he suggested that the state could save money by cutting the senior benefits program, and only backed off when people made it clear the impact this cruel cut would have on seniors whose ability to afford housing, medication and food rested on that small monthly check.

Dunleavy’s administration claims that nobody currently in Pioneer Homes will have to leave, although the state will now take all but a few dollars of their life savings to pay the increased bills. Like many lifelong Alaskans, my dad took pride in working hard and living frugally so he could save those dollars. We know he’d hoped to pass some of the fruits of all that work down to support his grandchildren’s education, but this won’t happen now. One of the only blessings of Mom no longer being with us is that she doesn’t have to turn over most of their shared life savings before the state would support Dad, leaving her more dependent on us, her kids, and other state and federal programs. Families can’t pass help along from generation to generation if the state takes everything they’d saved for that future to pay the 140% hike in bills for elder care. Spouses, children, grandchildren — this decision ripples far into the future.

We’re all trying not to get too stressed. After all, with the cuts to mental health programs in the state, we’d have a hard time finding a therapist.

They say you can tell how civilized a nation is by looking at how it treats its most powerless members. If that’s true, Gov. Dunleavy is missing the compassion to be a good leader. While I agree that some pay increases may be needed, the method and execution of the policy was unnecessary and thoughtless.

Chris Vaughan is a lifelong Alaskan. She currently lives in Soldotna, Alaska.


:


More in Opinion

Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-Alaska) speaks to reporters about his decision to veto an education funding bill at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: The fight for Alaska’s future begins in the classroom

The fight I’ve been leading isn’t about politics — it’s about priorities.

Dick Maitland, a foley artist, works on the 46th season of “Sesame Street” at Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York, Dec. 15, 2025. (Ariana McLaughlin/The New York Times)
Opinion: Trump’s embarrassing immaturity Republicans won’t acknowledge

Sullivan should be embarrassed by the ignorance and immaturity the president is putting on display for the world to see.

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, speaks in support of debating an omnibus education bill in the Alaska House Chambers on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024 in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: Choosing our priorities wisely

Rep. Justin Ruffridge reports back from Juneau.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks in support overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of House Bill 69 at the Alaska Capitol in Juneau, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)
Capitol Corner: As session nears end, pace picks up in Juneau

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman reports back from Juneau.

Alaska Department of Education and Early Development Commissioner Deena Bishop and Gov. Mike Dunleavy discuss his veto of an education bill during a press conference March 15, 2024, at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Strong policy, proven results

Why policy and funding go hand in hand.

Former Gov. Frank Murkowski speaks on a range of subjects during an interview with the Juneau Empire in May 2019. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Opinion: The Jones Act — crass protectionism, but for whom?

Alaska is dependent on the few U.S.-built ships carrying supplies from Washington state to Alaska.

Cook Inlet can be seen at low tide from North Kenai Beach on June 15, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Solving the Cook Inlet gas crisis

While importing LNG is necessary in the short term, the Kenai Peninsula is in dire need of a stable long-term solution.

Sockeye salmon caught in a set gillnet are dragged up onto the beach at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: Creating opportunities with better fishery management

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman reports back from Juneau.

The ranked choice outcome for Alaska’s U.S. Senate race is shown during an Alaska Public Media broadcast on Nov. 24, 2022. (Alaska Division of Elections)
Opinion: Alaska should keep ranked choice voting, but let’s make it easier

RCV has given Alaskans a better way to express their preferences.

Most Read