LONGMONT, Colo. — In the next two weeks, four veterans in need will get a new home.
It's part of a tiny home village being built specifically for unhoused vets. But, in order for the project to continue as planned, a local non-profit is asking for help.
Veterans Community Project (VCP) Longmont said supply chain issues and rising material costs caused the price of their total project to increase.
Jennifer Seybold, executive director of VCP, said when they started pricing out the project in 2019 their total cost was around $5 million. That price has now risen to $6.4 million.
"We’d love to continue to move at the pace we want, which is to complete this before the close of 2023, and in order to do that we really need to bring in about $130,000-$150,000 a month for the remainder of the year," Seybold said.
Seybold said they now have a $650,000 gap they need to fill and they're asking the community for donations.
"We're really counting on our community to come through to help us do that because we want to start housing people and add this additional layer of support," Seybold said.
When it's all completed VCP said they'll have built 26 tiny homes in the village. 21 homes are available for individuals and five for families. While many of the homes are already standing they still need things like electrical, drywall, and plumbing.
"When they walk in, everything in there belongs to them," said Ash Wallis. "They’ve spent so long getting hand me downs and things at shelters and these are going to be brand new items, that are theirs in their space."
Wallis does veteran support services for VCP. She said they also try to personalize each unit to make it feel more like a home.
"I am biased. I really love what VCP does and I’m really hoping that the community at large will see that this works, that this case management model, that this community model actually works and we’ll be able to use it for the general population," said Wallis.
Wallis said veterans interested in the tiny home village or are in need of housing can contact their case managers through their outreach center, located at 1228 Main Street in Longmont. They have walk-in hours Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Veterans can come to them for anything they need, including food, housing or other services Wallis said.
"If they need a gun lock. If they need food. If they are experiencing any sort of insecurity in their lives, then we can at least navigate them to the right place," said Wallis. "If we can’t help them, we will find someone who can."
Seybold said 70% of the work done on these tiny homes is completed by community volunteers. You can donate your time to building if you'd like, though, construction is nearly done. Really, Seybold said they need funding to help finish these homes.
If you want to give, you can do so at VCP's website. VCP also has other volunteer opportunities at their food bank.
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