Welcome Home Breaks Ground with $1.5 Million Veterans United Gift
After a long private fundraising process, Welcome Home, a nonprofit providing housing and support for local veterans, broke ground on its new emergency shelter housing site on Business Loop 70 E.
Nearly half of Welcome Home’s funding for the emergency shelter comes from the Veterans United Foundation, which donated $1.5 million to the project. The foundation is the philanthropic arm of Veterans United Home Loans, and most funding comes via donations from VU employees. In December 2014, the VU Foundation donated $1 million to Patriot Place, the permanent housing project located at the same site as the future Welcome Home shelter. CBT wrote about the Patriot Place project earlier this year.
The Welcome Home emergency shelter will have space for 32 veterans, including women and families, whom they can’t house at their current location on Rangeline Street. The new shelter will more than triple Welcome Home’s available space.
The site will be comprised of 32 apartment-style rooms, including restrooms and kitchenettes. The building will also feature laundry service, a computer lounge, community area, and a commercial kitchen. Residents will also have access to support services from Welcome Home and Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, a partner in both the Welcome Home and Patriot Place projects.
Welcome Home still needs to secure $300,000 to meet its project funding goal of $3.1 million. The organization expects to complete construction in August 2017.