Habitat eyes helping veterans get homes

Jason Grap, left, and Jason Heard of Hedgecoth Construction build a wall in front of one of two new Habitat houses being built on Snow Street in North Chattanooga on Jan. 7, 2015,
Jason Grap, left, and Jason Heard of Hedgecoth Construction build a wall in front of one of two new Habitat houses being built on Snow Street in North Chattanooga on Jan. 7, 2015,

The idea came to him this summer, when the USS LST 325 docked on the shore of the Tennessee River.

Looking at the massive, World War II-era ship, Dave Butler, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga, decided his organization needed to do something for veterans.

"That really started me thinking," he said.

Now the local Habitat organization is planning on building one home for a local veteran in need, and the group plans to continue building one home for a veteran annually. Butler said Habitat hopes to dedicate the home on Veterans Day.

Habitat for Humanity has traditionally focused on serving inner-city people in need, often single mothers in the black community. That won't change.

"We should continue to help them," Butler said. "But there's help needed in a lot of different places. Refugees need help. Veterans need help. Inner-city people need help."

Habitat has rigorous standards for individuals seeking a home. They must be earning enough income to maintain their mortgage payments. They have to take classes on finances and home ownership. If they have debt, they must get it to a manageable level. And those receiving a home have to put in 350 hours volunteering on it or another Habitat project.

The program is designed to be a long-term solution for providing affordable housing, not a stopgap like a homeless shelter.

"We don't give anything away and that's not our plans with veterans," Butler says. "It's to help them."

Mickey McCamish, chairman of the Southeast Tennessee Veterans Coalition, said Habitat's efforts will help keep local veterans from becoming homeless.

Habitat for Humanity now is seeking an eligible veteran in need of permanent housing.

"It's an opportunity to put a veteran into a home," McCamish said. "We just need to ID the veteran and have the candidates come forward."

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates about 50,000 American veterans are homeless on any given night, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is working to end veteran homelessness by the end of 2015.

The issue could become more worrisome as the military continues to shrink after the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In June 2014, city officials estimated there were some 150 chronically homeless veterans, meaning they were continuously homeless for 12 months or four times within a three-year time frame.

It's easy to assume that government benefits provide for veterans after their time in service. But McCamish said that's not always the case. The veterans coalition provides all manner of services, including help finding health care, therapy, transportation or food.

"We deal with anything to help the veteran out," he said. "We treat the whole body."

Contact staff writer Kevin Hardy at khardy@timesfreepress.comor 423-757-6249.

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