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There’s hope that Homes for Heroes can residents living in its veterans’ village in Transcona in 2025.
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Brad Field, president/CEO of the Calgary-based registered charity, said Sunday its initial permitting has been sorted out after close to a calendar year of delays with attention now turning to a “reboot.”
“It’s reigniting the excitement, because when we first announced that we were coming to Winnipeg, of course there was fanfare and lots of excitement. And then it kind of fizzles out. So for us, it’s reigniting the community because a lot of what we do is based on community involvement,” he said.
Winnipeg Kinsmen Veterans’ Village is for military veterans experiencing homelessness, based on housing first and harm reduction concepts. Its 20 tiny homes provide temporary housing and support services for veterans to help them find jobs and permanent homes. The $4-million project would include a resource centre, counsellor’s office, community gardens and recreation spaces.
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Veteran villages are operating in Calgary, Edmonton, and Kingston, Ont., with Homes for Heroes planning to span the countryside.
“We always say when we go in to build in a new city or new jurisdiction that it’s their village. As much as we’re building it, it’s the community that has to get behind it and provide the funding for it and provide the excitement around it,” Field said.
Field will look to Kevin Klein, the local fundraising chair and president/CEO of the Klein Group, which owns the Winnipeg Sun, to push the fundraising buttons on items such as headline sponsors for in the village major structures, and naming rights to the homes.
The public can also get behind the project at homesforheroesfoundation.ca.
“Optimistically, if the community comes together and gets behind this village, I would hope that we can break ground in 2025 and if construction (completes) in a reasonable time frame, that we may have residents living in our village by year end of 2025,” Field said.
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