Military veterans are the ones who fought to make the dreams of our grandfathers come true and to save the country for our future generations.

They answered the call of duty, ready to sacrifice their lives in the fight for our rights, land, and values. These people have witnessed horrors, pain, despair, sorrow, hunger, and fear.

Unfortunately, they are often marginalized, and their war experiences have made many of them unable to reintegrate back into society and live a normal life.

Don’t you think it is awful to forget the ones that have dedicated their lives to save our homeland? We are indebted to them, and we are obliged to try and repay their courage.

An initiative led by The Homes for Heroes Foundation has come up with a way to help them, by providing housing for homeless Canadian veterans.

The Canadian city of Calgary has built a tiny house village for Canadian veterans, and it was unveiled on October 28.

Don McLeod, a veteran support worker, explains that the goal is to unite these people to help them interact and support each other.

After interviewing some of them, he learned that most of them “are coming from the homeless environment,” with financial, mental health or substance use difficulties.

He explained:

“We find them, we’re going to house them, and we’re going to give them the opportunity to engage with programs we’re going to provide for them.”

He added:

“The program… will give them a place to stay and sleep, and then we can work together as a team to move them forwards… in their lives.”

McLeod explained that their ultimate goal is to help veterans go back to independent living in a broader community,  but they can stay in the village as long as they need it.

Each 275- square feet unit, consisting of a bathroom, a full kitchen, a breakfast bar and a workstation, a Murphy bed, is named for a fallen soldier.

The village also has a counselor’s office, a family suite, a resource center, and community gardens.

To apply for one of the tiny homes, veterans have to fill out an application and complete a needs analysis, and the foundation chooses the ones they believe will be successful in the program.

The residents will have to pay $600 a month in rent, which would cover all of the social services: PTSD counseling and education, medical, and employment services, as well as water, heat, internet, phone, and security.

McLeod added that their project has been supported by numerous organizations.

He believes the project will be a success, and it is his personal goal to rehabilitate the residents back into the wider society within a two-year period.

Sources:
www.disclose.tv
www.ctvnews.ca
www.businessinsider.com