02/06/2020
Military Veterans Centers
Residential-Educational-Vocational
Multiple Projects -- Nationwide
This outlines a private business approach toward resolving the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA’s historic failure to provide adequate support for the nation’s military veterans.
Even considering the “generous” Post WWII Veterans Benefits program, many of the most impacted veterans have been left behind, homeless and mentally challenged.
Within the past fifty years, the Veterans Affairs Administration’s Subsidized Housing program, as established and managed, has fallen behind as rapidly rising rents result in evictions of veterans in favor of those who can pay the higher rents.
For Central North Carolina – The short fall in estimated need for federally subsidized (VA) veterans’ living units range from 22,000 to 27,000 beds
A 12-member group has been established, serving as the planning and development foundation.
Each center & each project will be individually incorporated protecting each entity’s assets from liability from others.
Consulting with numerous professionals in many occupations, we have developed a broad program for these Veterans Centers.
With each facility providing residential, food service, counseling, career guidance, vocational, academic, on-line distance training and recreation.
By locating in more rural communities, each center can establish a Three-Star quality public restaurant where veterans order off-the-menu (Not institutional steam table chow.) Commonly, this will provide the host community with a quality public restaurant, including "Fine Dining" evenings and Sundays.
Veteran residents will be able to host families and friends for meals during visits.
Those families may also be guests with Center recreation.
Programs will be developed allowing center residents to become involved and active within the surrounding communities.
Operations will be conducted by a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, applying for public/private grants for funding, then partnering with veterans groups’ LLCs developing/operating “cottage industries” based upon service training and experience
along with the Centers' vocational and business training.
The GOAL – Within two to three years after entering the program, all capable veterans will become not only self-sufficient, but potentially prosperous.
Either remaining as a center resident or evolving to independent off-site living.
Why Privately Owned/Operated Veterans Centers?
I've been meeting with veterans -- WWII through the most recently retired or "separated," for the past 20 plus years, from the VA’s Monterey Clinic at Fort Ord, Mathis AFB at Sacramento, Atwood, Palo Alto, Richmond and San Francisco, California, then in Dallas and three locations here in the Carolinas.
The homeless and distressed veterans need:
Safe housing, quality food, ready access to VA and private/public hospital and specialty practice medical care, strong mental counseling, structure in their lives, pride in "their team" again, academic and vocational/trades training and then an organization to help them apply vocational training along with their military training and experience, developing veteran group owned cottage industries.
There must be shuttle buses for medical/training program transportation, events and recreational trips.
The residents, as they desire, may organize and train for Military Funeral Details, Parade Units, Precision Drill Teams and Color Guards for scholastic sporting events and others.
Just housing alone will not succeed.
There will be an extensive group of Mental Health specialists who will counsel veteran residents in each facility. Reality, having each other for support will be of major importance.
These proposed facilities must be privately operated, organized and managed to produce operating margins.
Primarily to eliminate red tape within daily operations, remaining agile for adapting and changing as needed. Hopefully most of the margins will be reinvested in additional Veterans Centers. (Fair Return on Investment, Debt Service operating reserve and property expenses must be covered.)
Current public agency/charity models rarely, if ever, work.
We are convinced each Center must have 800 to 1,000 residents, in order for all programs to succeed.
A] Most will serve 200-to-400 Viet Nam era vets and some spouses.
B] A very few aging Korea, Grenada, Panama, Lebanon, Somolia, Desert Storm veterans.
C] Many will be more recent veterans, who survived multiple deployments, IED injuries.
Many of these couples, as well as single vets, younger couples and single male and female vets are at this time, surviving in woodlands' tented camps nationally.
We know of two such camps within our city limits in this town of 7,500.
IS THERE A WAY FOR YOU TO HELP?
1] Take the lead in organizing an entity in your area.
2] Identify a site with existing buildings and facilities which can be acquired at well below market prices -- abandoned modern mills/factories or similar sites.
3] Twenty to forty acres will suffice for the Center with buildings for a dozen cottage industries. A co-op farm will need 40 acres initially, with growth expanding to 200 acres or more.
4] That could include a space dedicated to "equine programs." Horses and mules for drill units, even Historic Period parade units.
5] Contact us -- How to donate (tax-deductible) directly to the Non - Profit entity.
