APPLETON, Wis. (AP) - The way U.S. Army veteran Angel Moore shows off her one-bedroom apartment, you would think she lived in the Governor’s Mansion.
For most people, it might appear like an ordinary single apartment. The standard unit consists of all your basic needs: a small kitchen, one bedroom and one bathroom.
But, for Moore, who has spent countless nights living out of hotel rooms and couch surfing, it was only in her wildest dreams she imagined having a place to call her own.
The day she did her first walk through, she knew she was on a path to escape becoming another statistic about the number of homeless veterans in the country.
“All of a sudden I felt this feeling of absolute freedom coming over me and I had tears in my eyes,” Moore told the Post Crescent.
On Jan. 13, she officially moved into the Wisconsin Veterans Village, a housing complex that provides affordable housing specifically for veterans.
The project has brought in nearly $3 million through individual and corporate donations to renovate 48 apartments at the Outagamie Housing Authority’s Glenpark Campus.
So far, 22 apartments have been renovated and occupied by veterans, with another eight to be completed this month.
After this first phase of the project is completed, the goal is to build 26 new senior housing apartments followed by the final phase of a 10-bed Honor Home for veterans who are terminally ill. The cost for the facilities is not yet finalized.
In its goal to reach veterans across lifespans, the village is unique in providing resources and shelter for young adults starting families to those needing end-of-life care.
The idea was sparked by Vietnam veteran Tom Wiltzius of Appleton when he was searching for a home for his mother, who was a World War II veteran.
Wiltzius had difficulty finding a facility that could provide end-of-life care for veterans. The options he did pursue put his mother on long waiting lists.
Taking matters into his own hands, Wiltzius founded the Wisconsin Veterans Village Association, partnering with Outagamie County Housing Authority and the Fox Valley Veterans Council to make his vision a reality.
Once the final product is completed, Wiltzius expects the village to pay for itself through rent without relying on donations.
“We have to embark on an initiative we have no model for, but if we come up with something that is self-sustaining, the community would support us,” Wiltzius said.
Currently, the apartments being renovated for the village are owned by the housing authority, but once the Wisconsin Veterans Village Association obtains 80% of building occupancy, it will be eligible to acquire the property.
Wiltzius believes the veterans’ village will be at 60% of the occupancy by the end of March.
Kari Kuiper, executive director of the Outagamie Housing Authority and vice president of the village, said the housing authority will not evacuate any tenants for the creation of the village and instead will be renovating apartments as they become vacant.
Kuiper said she hopes the village will provide more affordable housing in the community for veterans.
“Finding affordable housing is very hard to find in the area in general, (but) for veterans especially,” she said.
Veterans can apply for housing at the village through the Outagamie Housing Authority, but the village can also accept referrals from the Fox Valley Veterans Council or other county veterans organizations.
A committee within the village will then screen prospective tenants for a background check and ensure they have served in the military.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Point-in-Time count from January 2019, which measures a national snapshot of homeless veterans, there was a 2.1% decrease in the estimated number of homeless veterans in the country.
Roughly 38,000 veterans experienced homelessness as of January 2019, according to the count.
For veterans needing more financial assistance, the Department of Veterans Affairs can provide vouchers to help cover the cost of rent.
Outagamie County Board Supervisor and veterans village treasurer Mike Thomas said he feels the end-of-life services will be one of the largest contributions of the village.
“You go into (care facilities) they say “thank you for your service, here’s your bill,’” Thomas said. “It gets pretty expensive.”
Expenses for veterans needing care can be high, he said. The veterans village hopes to eventually be able to provide affordable in-home care with options to front up to 50% of the cost for veterans who need financial assistance.
Josh Andreini, the village’s navigator, also operates its career and resource center. He connects veterans with resources that can help with the transition to civilian life and employment.
“I know an issue for veterans can be isolation,” Andreini, a U.S. Army veteran who served in the Iraq War, said. “Not feeling connected, not feeling like we fit into the community.”
Having a community specifically for veterans will not only ease the transition to life outside the military, but also build camaraderie among residents, he said.
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