Green Bay could get a veterans village to provide community, resources for veterans
GREEN BAY — The Green Bay area is about to get its own veterans village to help local veterans get back on their feet.
The project has been in the works for two years and it is expected to get the go ahead this week. The Brown County Board will vote to approve the land for the homes Wednesday night.
The idea came to Gail Nohr, a U.S. Navy veteran herself, after she visited the veteran tiny home village in Racine. Nohr worked at the Brown County Veterans' Services Office for six years and would get calls from veterans every day who were about to lose their homes or couldn't find an affordable place to live, she said during an announcement Monday morning.
With a degree in substance abuse counseling and having also worked as a counselor at a veterans shelter, she understood the struggles veterans face. So, she decided to work with her husband, Kim, to create transitional homes for veterans in the Green Bay area.
"We want to give them the resources to get them back on their feet," Nohr said.
Brown County is donating 3.5 acres of land on the city's east side to make Nohr's dream become reality, saving about $2.5 million, she said. The vacant site is across from Veterans Manor on St. Anthony Drive, near the Milo C. Huempfner Veterans Administration Health Center and served by public transportation. The 3.5 acres is part of the approximate 33 acres of the the former Brown County Mental Health Center site at 2890 St. Anthony Drive.
The village, created by the Nohrs' nonprofit Veterans 1st of Northeast Wisconsin, will be made up of 21 homes that will house up to 25 veterans. The homes will be 400 or 600 square feet and will include some transitional homes, where veterans can live for free and then pay 30% of their income when they get a job. The nonprofit hopes to hopes to start construction in the spring and open seven homes by October 2024. Construction of the entire village is set to finish by 2025.
Nationwide, more than 33,000 veterans are homeless, according to the most recent data from the Point-in-Time Count by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. About 80 in the Green Bay area are homeless, Nohr said.
Four people are already on the waitlist for the homes in the veterans village. The goal of the village is to get the veterans back in the community within five years, Nohr said. The transitional living will be a two-year program and the affordable homes will be for three years.
"We want to give them the resources to get them back on their feet," Nohr said.
The village will include a community center that will offer mental health and substance abuse counseling, job training, apprenticeships, and mentorships. If there is a need for more homes, the county may provide more acres of land down the line, Streckenbach said.
"Having a safe home to for someone start their journey in recovery is the first step," said Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach.
To approve the land donation, 17 members of the County Board will need to vote "yes" Wednesday night.
Veterans 1st of Northeast Wisconsin is accepting applications for veterans to get on the waitlist for a home. Applications can be found online at veterans1stnew.com. Veterans looking to become a mentor can also sign up online.
More: Veterans find community, resources at Wisconsin Veterans Village in Appleton
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay could get a veterans village to provide community, resources for veterans
