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When Michael La Fleur arrived at the United Veterans of America
(UVA) homeless shelter in Leeds, Massachusetts, more than three
years ago, he was depressed and suicidal. A family member had recently
died and he had just lost his Holyoke apartment in a fire.
"My mother had died a few weeks before the fire and she was
the only one I had left," says Mr. La Fleur, a former U.S.
Marine who served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War. "I
lost my family and my home."
At about the same time, Eugene Vereen, another veteran, also arrived
at the Leeds shelter. Mr. Vereen had reached a similar turning point
in his life. "My life was really going in the wrong direction,"
says Mr. Vereen, 66, who served four years in the U.S. Air Force.
"At an early age, I began drinking and using drugs. It took
over my life. I didn't have a sense of direction."
Three years later, however, both men have turned their lives around,
thanks in part to the concern shown them by the shelter's staff.
"Being here has been a great help to me," says Mr. Vereen,
who is now a member of the organization's staff. "I've had
over three years of sobriety."
In recent weeks, both Mr. Vereen and Mr. LaFleur have been preparing
for the next step in their recovery by moving to UVA's new Tri-State
Veterans Transitional Housing Project, which is set to open this
month in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
The recipient of a $274,000 grant and a $274,000 subsidized advance
from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston's Affordable Housing Program
(AHP), the Tri-State Veterans Transitional Housing Project involves
the conversion of a former nursing home into veterans'
transitional housing.
"The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston's contribution, in effect,
eliminated the need for a mortgage," says John F. Downing,
UVA's executive director. "The marriage was just perfect for
us."
In addition to applying for the AHP awards on behalf of the developer,
Legacy Banks of Pittsfield also provided a construction loan for
the development. "The AHP gives us the ability to provide funds
to projects that may not be doable otherwise," says Edward
Rizzardini, senior vice president at Legacy Banks. "Being able
to pass along the benefits of the direct subsidy and subsidized
advance made the economics of the project that much better."
Mr. Downing says the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provided
the organization with 65 percent of the funding needed to purchase
and renovate the former nursing home, while the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development awarded the initiative another
$358,000 to develop studio apartments on the site.
Another key development partner was consultant Berkshire Housing
Development Corporation, which identified funding sources, located
the property, and oversaw its development. "We combined our
housing expertise with UVA's social-service expertise," says
Peter J. Lafayette, president of Berkshire Housing Development Corporation.
"The AHP grant and subsidized advance really were crucial factors
in making this work. It probably wouldn't have happened without
them."
Steven Como, UVA's director of government relations, says the new
Pittsfield facility will provide housing for recovering veterans
who are ready for more independent living. The project includes
a 60-bed facility with shared rooms in the upper portion of the
building and 10 permanent studio apartments on the lower level.
A private, nonprofit organization, UVA collaborates with the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs to provide services to veterans in
an area that includes parts of Massachusetts, ‰ Connecticut,
and New York. Homeless veterans from the designated area are eligible
to find shelter in the Leeds facility, which is on the grounds of
the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Veterans with substance-abuse
or mental-health problems must enroll in a detox program or receive
treatment at the nearby VA Medical Center before they are allowed
to stay at the shelter, says Mr. Como.
Members of the shelter staff monitor residents to ensure they remain
sober and take their prescribed medications. Once shelter residents
have stabilized their lives, they are eligible to move to the new
Pittsfield transitional facility.
Mr. Downing notes that the average age of veterans at the Leeds
facility is 53 and that most are Vietnam War-era veterans. The country's
25 million veterans make up about 9.6 percent of the total U.S.
population, but account for about 33 percent of the nation's homeless
people. "Veterans become homeless at a rate that's three times
higher than that for non-veterans," he says.
"In the population that I work with, approximately 25 to 30
percent of the people have post traumatic stress syndrome, 88 percent
are diagnosed with a mental-health disorder, and 82 percent also
have a substance abuse problem," adds Mr. Downing.
With the opening of the Pittsfield facility, UVA has more options
available for veterans such as Mr. LaFleur and Mr. Vereen, both
of whom will be moving into studio apartments at the new site.
"The people here helped me, made me feel I was needed,"
says Mr. LaFleur, who is also a member of the shelter's staff now.
"I fell in love with the job and found I was good at it."
"I feel this is a great opportunity to make that next step,"
adds Mr. Vereen. "I'll be somewhat living on my own and have
more responsibility. I think it's going to be a plus for me in my
older years to be of help to other veterans who are going through
the same thing."
A multimedia documentary on the Veterans Transitional Housing
Project will be published in February in the Profiles
section of our Web site at www.fhlbboston.com/profiles.
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