WASHINGTON -- A Titusville, Fla., shelter for homeless veterans will be dedicated with a 4 p.m. ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday.
The recently renovated duplex on two acres of land at 423 Rock Pit Road will be home to eight formerly homeless veterans. The renovation was done with the help of a $233,000 grant awarded to the Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless of Brevard City, Inc., from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The grant was one of seven awarded to Florida communities and one of 65 awarded nationwide in 2001.
John W. Smart, VA’s veterans service organization liaison director and former VFW national commander, will represent VA at the ribbon cutting ceremony. Colonel Stephen J. Werner, commander of the 45th Support Group from Patrick Air Force base, and retired Army Col. Charley Price, director of external affairs for the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, will participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony.
"We have seen a growing interest from America's communities in joining our fight against homelessness," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi. "The grants we have awarded over the past eight years have strengthened the strong community partnerships necessary to deliver the lifeline homeless veterans need."
VA’s Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program allows VA to assist public and private non-profit agencies establish and operate new housing and service centers for homeless veterans and to purchase vans to provide them transportation.
Since the program began in 1994, VA has awarded 306 grants to nonprofit organizations or government agencies. Total funding has exceeded $60 million.
"There are already more than 3,000 veterans who sleep each night in beds funded under VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program, and approximately 3,000 more beds are in the pipeline," said Principi. "None are more important than the beds prepared for the eight veterans who will take up residence in this home."
