BOSTON — John Santiago, secretary of the Executive Office of Veterans Services, used the Commonwealth’s Veterans Day ceremony to outline accomplishments in the past three years and to call for continued partnership to serve veterans.

"We were held accountable. We worked together. We listened to one another. We led with listening," Santiago said, summarizing his approach and linking it to concrete outcomes: renovations and improvements at veterans’ homes, passage of what he described as the HEROIC veterans legislation, and declining veteran homelessness in Massachusetts.

Santiago, who spoke about his service as an Army physician and his early outreach to veterans at a Revere VFW meeting, pointed to individual examples: he mentioned a formerly homeless veteran who received keys to a home and noted that the Commonwealth has focused on both housing stock and wraparound services.

Why it matters: State oversight and funding decisions affect veterans’ homes, homelessness prevention and service delivery. Santiago framed legislation and operational changes as the result of sustained investment and collaboration with local governments and nonprofits.

What was said about HEROIC: Santiago described the statute as "the most comprehensive piece of veterans legislation," crediting it with expanding services; the ceremony did not include the bill text or a citation for the law, and Santiago did not provide implementation timelines in his remarks.

Other context from the ceremony: Santiago thanked veterans and Gold Star families, praised local volunteer efforts and nonprofit partners, and emphasized storytelling as a tool to inform policy and practice in veterans’ services.

Quote: "We've done this all because we did it together," Santiago said, reflecting on what he described as the Commonwealth’s progress in veterans' services.

Next steps: Santiago’s remarks at the ceremony outlined outcomes and priorities but did not specify new funding requests or regulatory changes; follow-up with the Executive Office of Veterans Services or the Legislature would be required to get implementation details or budget documents.