Retired Chief Petty Officer John O'Rourke and Chief Xander Kehoe of the Naval Sea Cadets, Hurricane Division, conduct a flag-raising ceremony as veteran James Comey is presented with his new rental home on Veterans Way. (Contributed photo)UPDATE: The tree planting planned for July 29 at Veterans Way has been cancelled because of thunderstorms in the forecast. The tree planting will instead be combined with the donation day scheduled for Aug. 9.
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ORIGINAL STORY: Four homeless veterans will be provided with furnished homes to rent below market rates thanks to help from several area organizations, most of which were recruited by East Brainerd resident Stacy Kehoe to help with the project.
"These homeless veterans served our country. The very least we could do is to help them find a home," she said.
Kehoe is commanding officer of the local Hurricane Division of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps and a member of the Southeastern Veterans Coalition, which has a goal of reducing the homeless veteran population. She contacted Heather Hoffman at Mayor Andy Berke's office to become involved with the Homeless Veterans Task Force, part of the mayor's initiative to end chronic veteran homelessness in the city. Those who have been continuously homeless for 12 months or four times within a three-year time frame are considered chronically homeless.
For her part in helping the city dwindle the number of veterans facing this situation, Kehoe also enlisted the help of the Hurricane and Signal Mountain divisions of the Sea Cadets and members of the Judge David Campbell Daughters of the American Revolution Chapter, of which she serves as regent, to help collect donations of household items such as sheets, beds and dishes.
Kehoe then met John O'Rourke, a case manager for Buffalo Valley Inc., which provides housing and support services to disabled, homeless and low-income residents in Tennessee. With a grant from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, BVI built four rental homes in a development called Patriots Place at Veterans Way for local homeless, disabled and low-income veterans and their families.
BVI supplied the homes with ovens and refrigerators, while Elks Lodge #91 in East Brainerd furnished a microwave for each home. Kehoe committed to furnishing the houses - each of which has four bedrooms and two bathrooms - with furniture, kitchen and bath supplies, and household items.
When the first of the homes was complete, Kehoe helped clean it from top to bottom, installed flagpoles and even laid a portion of the asphalt in the driveway. DAR member Marie Wingate spent four hours cleaning the kitchen alone, Kehoe said.
The first home was presented in May to James Cosey, a veteran who had been living in his car for the past two years. Two of his daughters, who in the past lived with other family members, will also call the space home, reuniting with their father.
The second of the four homes is now complete and currently undergoing codes inspection by the city, Kehoe said. While the DAR has already supplied many of the kitchen and bathroom items needed for it and the remaining two homes, many other furnishings are still needed.
On Wednesday, Aug. 9 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., a "House Our Heroes" Donation Day will be held at Patriots Place to collect donations of items still needed, including 12 single-bed frames, box springs and mattresses; washer and dryer sets for each of the three homes, and bedding. Kehoe said health codes require all mattresses and bedding to be new. The homes also need small furniture items - Kehoe noted that the rooms are fairly small - such as dressers, couches, love seats, end tables, lamps, wall decorations and futons.
Kehoe set up a wishlist on Amazon of items still needed for the homes at https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2Y5Q9AR5A7TB5?&sort=default. To maintain consistency in quantity of items, she asked that people who want to make donations to select only items from the list, and to use the Judge David Campbell Chapter "Amazon Smiles" fundraising link so the chapter can receive a partial donation to assist the group in continuing to support similar endeavors.
School supplies for Cosey's young daughters are also being collected, including crayons, coloring books, pencils, pens, scissors and school clothing. His youngest daughter, Semaj, wears a size 10. Her school mandates blue polo shirts, pants and skirts, but her favorite colors are pink, blue and purple. She has very few dolls and loves stuff with emojis.
His older daughter, Samarra, wears a 14 Slim. She loves pink, purple, blue and orange. She loves to play basketball and would love to have a basketball stand (included on Amazon registry list).
Those who would like to contribute their time to the cause are welcome to join Friday, July 28 at 9 a.m. as volunteers lay mulch and plant shrubs and trees around the homes. The materials were purchased with a grant from Home Depot awarded to Buffalo Valley, said Kehoe. Participants will need to bring water, shovels, and wear work clothes and gloves.
For GPS directions to the development, the address is 4005 McDowell St. For more information, email Kehoe at slk40ax@gmail.com.