Veterans Community Project

Paying It Forward

Here’s a bright spot to help balance the mostly dire news these days. About six years ago the nonprofit group Veterans Community Project put tiny homes to good use by creating a village for homeless veterans in Kansas City, Missouri. Its been such a success that plans are in the works for similar projects in eight other cities by the end of 2022.

In the November, 2015 issue of Rolling Stone, the subtitle of the article The Shameful Way America Treats Its Veterans was The number of homeless Vietnam veterans today is greater than the number of soldiers who died during the war. Tessa Stuart reported that, “Veterans are twice as likely as the average American to be chronically homeless. In fact, more than a third of homeless individuals across the country are veterans — between 529,000 and 840,000, depending on the time of year, according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. At this point, the number of homeless Vietnam veterans, male and female, is greater than the number of soldiers who died during the war.”

One out of every four homeless individuals wore a United States military uniform at some point in their lives and the VA only has the resources to serve one out of every ten homeless veterans. The VA is certainly not going to provide housing or other opportunities.

On a nationwide level, however, Operation Tiny Home is another non-profit that sponsors the Building a Better Future for Veterans Program, providing a path for veterans to learn carpentry skills, build confidence, and create a supportive community while building a tiny home for a homeless peer in need. They use a Pay-it-Forward model as studies have shown that Housing First models result in long-term housing stability, improved physical and behavioral health outcomes, and reduced use of crisis services such as emergency departments, hospitals, and jails.

Those darn socialist ideas of helping people…what’s next, community food banks? Geddoudaheer.

And now…