PORTLAND, Maine (AP)   U.S. Sen. Angus King is praising the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for funding for three new staff positions in Maine.

The VA announcement on Tuesday means there will be a second veterans’ justice outreach specialist along with the first re-entry specialist in more than eight years to help veterans confronting homelessness and mental health and substance abuse issues.

King said veterans struggling with those problems “deserve our comprehensive support.”

King had called on the VA Secretary David Shulkin in February to fund the positions within the Veterans Justice Program. He said “more resources need to be allocated to this program” in a state with one of the highest number of veterans per capita.