This Memorial Day weekend, volunteers in Racine gathered to work on a project that will provide shelter for homeless veterans.
The organization, Veterans Outreach of Wisconsin, is building more than a dozen tiny homes, and a veterans community center near Horlick High School.
"Our veterans in need are not looking for a handout, says Jeff Gustin, Executive Director of Veterans Outreach of Wisconsin. "They're just looking for someone to care. They are the brave men and women that stood up to defend our freedoms. So, we're going to do what we can on our side to get them back up to the life they've earned and deserve. "
Starting with their own private space to call home.
"This is going to be a place where they can finally lock the door behind them and be safe, warm, dry and secure," Gustin says.
Each home is eight by 16 feet, with a fridge, microwave, TV, couch, work space, and bed. There's heat in the winter, and air conditioning in the summer. And they'll be steps from a community center with running water.
"Inside the community center is the bathroom, kitchen, laundry facilities, shower rooms, and a meeting hall," Gustin says. "So, we're politely forcing them to use the community service - they're going to see the programs that are available. They're going to start to socialize. They're going to start to open up."
David Smith, a Marine Corps veteran, who's now helping build these homes, knows how difficult "opening up" can be.
"I was actually homeless myself," Smith says. "I know how easy it is to fall into that category because when I got out of the service, I couldn't get a job."
It was Veterans Outreach of Wisconsin that gave him a job, which led to being able to afford a place to live.
Smith is a living example for the people that will soon live in the spaces he's creating.
"It feels good to try and help others get back on their feet," Smith says. "I'm able to pay it forward and show them that you can change your circumstance. Tomorrow is always a new day."
The tiny homes and the programs at the community center are only meant to be a first step towards more stable, permanent housing.
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