Community built homes help veterans transition out of homelessness in Flint

At the end of March, Catholic Charities of Shiawassee and Genesee Counties completed construction of the Sacred Heart Veteran Village in Flint, and some of the Sacred Heart Veteran Village bungalows were completed and ready to be moved into. The new bungalows provide transitional housing for veterans, and they are now home to three veterans, with a fourth moving in at the end of June. 

The Veteran Village currently consists of four 300-square-foot bungalows in a pod, but the plan is to have 26 bungalows in six pods on the property, with some also serving as 500-square-foot one-bedroom apartments. 

The date for these additions is currently unknown, and waiting on additional funding. On the property, there is also a Veteran Resource Center building, which houses offices, a small gym, a kitchen and spaces for support groups. 

Catholic Charities has received funding from the C.S. Mott Foundation, the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, the City of Flint and other donors and continues to fundraise for the project. 

The individual bungalows cost around $80,000 each, or about $360,000 for a pod of four. This covers the bungalows themselves, all of the prep-work, electrical work, sewer and cement work. All of the bungalows come fully furnished with beds, furniture, kitchen equipment and bathrooms. 

Catholic Charities paid and received grants for Lurvey Construction to build the Veteran Resource Center building, but the bungalows have been a community effort, funded by grants, fundraisers and sponsors from groups like Knights of Columbus and the Flushing Women’s Club.

Students from Genesee Career Institute and Grand Blanc High School volunteered to help build the houses’ framework, and volunteer apprentices completed the plumbing and electrical work. 

Daniel Vela, program coordinator for Sacred Heart Veteran Village and a Marine Corps veteran, said the project’s inspiration began when Catholic Charities saw homeless veterans inside their warming centers and soup kitchens. 

“This used to be Sacred Heart Church on this property; The Diocese of Lansing had donated the property to Catholic Charities,” Vela said. “…But based on seeing these homeless veterans inside the warming center and soup kitchen, they decided to try to build these tiny homes for those homeless veterans.”

Kate Baxter, CEO of Catholic Charities of Shiawassee and Genesee Counties, said the transitional housing model helps veterans get back on their feet and receive any support they need.

“Veterans are experiencing issues like mental health and substance abuse disorders, lack of support, instability, lack of vocational skills and health and spiritual challenges,” Baxter said. “We have a wrap-around model to support and to obtain income.” 

Vela said there are certain requirements for the veterans to stay at the Veteran Village, including no drug or alcohol use and at least four hours of community service per month. Veterans are also required to have some form of income.

“They are required to have some type of income to live here, whether that’s through some type of VA disability or some social security or they’re working,” Vela said.

The veterans are required to pay between $300 to $500 a month, which covers the program fee. The amount they pay is determined by 30% of their income. 

If 30% of their income is outside that range, they pay the amount closest to it. The transitional housing model is meant to be a temporary placement, but there is no official time limit for anyone staying in the Veterans Village 

“It’s hard to say when these first four guys will be moving out, it could be a year, two years or it could be six months,” Vela said.

Haley Bowman

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Haley Bowman is a write for the Michigan Times, she can be reached at haleybow@umich.edu.

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