ST. LOUIS — It takes a village to create one.
The Veterans Community Project are veterans helping their own.
On Wednesday, the organization held a ribbon cutting for its first phase of its outreach center.
It's found a home in north St. Louis on a nearly four-acre property in the heart of the Jeff Vander-Lou neighborhood. The first phase unveiled 20 tiny homes with 10 being family units.
The day holds a special place for Executive Director Rebecca Tallman.
"This is such a monumental day for us. Being a veteran myself, retired Air Force after 20 years, it was very important to our founders and myself that we leave no veteran behind," Tallman said.
Beyond being a Navy intelligence officer, Mark Solomon is also the co-founder of the group.
"There are four founders of Veterans Community Project and about eight years ago, we sketched an idea on a napkin for tiny houses for homeless veterans. Over 3,000 cities reached out to say, 'We want you to come in our town.' St. Louis was at the top of our list because there is a community willing to give," Solomon said.
Services at the walk-in support center include:
- Food and Hygiene Kits
- Housing Assessment for VCP Village
- CHES: Credit Repair and Financial Services
- Identification Services
- Inpatient/Outpatient Referrals
- Legal Assistance Referrals
- Mental and Physical Health Referrals
- Veteran Service Officer Assistance
- Emergency Assistance Funds
It's a space the organization built so that veterans can rebuild.
"We know there are some gaps in the system and local area veterans that need assistance," Tallman added.
At the ceremony's celebration, veterans in the audience witnessed the camaraderie.
Signatures of support are embedded inside homes too.
The organizers said community created this village with volunteerism and donations.
Solomon shared, "We are working on a capital campaign that is $12 million. We are about halfway there and that will help us out with the entire village."
Phase two and three are still to come. Once it's all done, it will have a community center and a total of 50 tiny homes.
More assistance will allow more to grow.
"That's how get this done is with the community support," Solomon said.
The organization believes after all of the valor, their village deserves to be valued.
"Veterans signed up to serve our country and they deserve from us the utmost dignity and all of our services," Tallman said.
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