Veterans Renovate Too! Brings Veterans, Volunteers and Community Partners Together to Create Affordable Housing
When veterans, community volunteers and corporate partners come together around a shared mission, the impact can extend far beyond a single renovation project.
CAVE SPRING, GEORGIA — Metro Detroit Housing Service (MDHS), through its Veterans Renovate Too! initiative, recently brought that mission to Cave Spring, Georgia, where volunteers worked together to help transform an existing residential property into affordable housing.
The project demonstrates a central idea behind Veterans Renovate Too!: we can rebuild communities while creating opportunities for the people who served our country.
Transforming Property Into Opportunity
The Cave Spring project focused on the renovation of an existing residential complex being converted into affordable apartments.
Veterans and community volunteers joined together to improve the property, including exterior painting, property cleanup, landscaping and other renovation-related activities.
The completed development is intended to provide multiple two-bedroom housing units, expanding the supply of affordable housing within the community.
But the physical transformation of the property represents only one part of the mission.
Veterans Renovate Too!
MDHS created Veterans Renovate Too! around a simple concept: veterans can play an active role in rebuilding the communities they call home.
Military service often develops qualities that translate well into construction and the skilled trades — discipline, teamwork, leadership, accountability, problem-solving and the ability to accomplish a mission.
Veterans Renovate Too! seeks to build upon those strengths by exposing veterans to construction and renovation activities and helping create pathways toward education, training and opportunities within the skilled trades.
Training. Experience. Employment. Entrepreneurship.
A Partnership Powered by Service
The Cave Spring renovation was strengthened through support from The Home Depot Foundation, which helped provide materials and resources used during the project.
Volunteers worked alongside veterans and community participants, demonstrating what can happen when nonprofit organizations, businesses and residents combine their resources around a community need.
The result was more than a volunteer event. It was an example of collaborative community development.
Affordable Housing and Workforce Development Can Work Together
Communities across America face two interconnected challenges: the need for quality affordable housing and the need for sustainable career opportunities.
MDHS believes these challenges can sometimes be addressed together.
Properties in need of rehabilitation create opportunities for hands-on learning and workforce exposure. Veterans interested in construction can develop skills while participating in projects that improve housing and strengthen neighborhoods.
Train people. Renovate homes. Expand housing. Strengthen communities.
Extending the Mission Beyond Metro Detroit
Although Metro Detroit is at the heart of MDHS's identity, the Cave Spring project demonstrates that the organization's mission can create impact wherever veterans, housing needs and strong community partnerships intersect.
Housing instability and the transition from military service into civilian employment are not challenges confined to one city. Neither should the solutions be.
More Than Renovating Buildings
At the end of a Veterans Renovate Too! project, the most visible result may be a freshly painted building, repaired property or revitalized home. But the larger impact can be found in the people.
- A veteran may discover a new career path.
- A volunteer may discover a new way to serve.
- A neighborhood gains improved housing.
- A family may eventually gain a place to call home.
- Organizations discover what they can accomplish through collaboration.
That is the larger vision behind Veterans Renovate Too!
Build people. Rebuild homes. Strengthen communities.
Ways to advance the mission
MDHS welcomes opportunities to collaborate with veterans, contractors, skilled-trades professionals, community organizations, housing providers, corporate partners and volunteers who share our commitment to veteran empowerment and stronger communities.
Whether through volunteering, workforce development, professional expertise, materials, financial support or strategic partnerships, there are many ways to help advance the mission.
Together, we can create opportunities for veterans while rebuilding the communities they served to protect.
Metro Detroit Housing Service (MDHS) is an independent nonprofit organization. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, authorized by, or acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), or any other federal, state, or local government agency. We provide education, housing navigation and community-based services. Eligibility for government programs is determined solely by the administering agency.
Build your next career in the skilled trades
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