Help for homeless veterans happening locally

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Homeless veterans to move into apartments

By Amanda Nalley • DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER • November 19, 2009

From trinkets to paintings to brightly colored quilts, the apartments on Lake Bradford Road south of Gaines Street were filled with things that make a house really feel like home. And soon, that is what the apartments will be — home to 52 homeless veterans, the first of whom will move in next week.

"They've answered the call. They've gone to some of the most horrible places in the world, and it's payback time," Admiral LeRoy Collins Jr. said. "It is time to help these vets get back on their feet." Members of several veterans' organizations as well as Volunteers of America and the American Legion Post 13, which both played a big role in the initiative, gathered Wednesday to celebrate the grand opening of Tallahassee Veterans Village, a former student-housing apartment complex that will house homeless veterans for a period of two years. "It'll be the first stability I've had in 26 years," said Glenn Walker, a homeless veteran who will be moving into the complex. "No more running. I've got an anchor."

Walker has been looking forward to moving into the apartments for more than a year. The project started in late 2007. Since then, the complex has received an outpouring of support from the public, including volunteers and donations.

The complex will offer more than just housing. Classes in a variety of subjects from how to write a resume to cooking will be offered via the he Mitch Collier Life-Long Learning Center and the Kay Freeman Memorial Conference Center, both of which are housed at the complex.

More: http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20091119/NEWS01/911190320/1010/news01/Homeless-veterans-to-move-into-apartments

The apartment complex was student housing that was left derelict a number of years ago. The group operating this program has been working on refurbishing the apartments to make the place livable again. It si good to see it used for something that will benefit the community and our veterans.