VFW AUXILIARY DONATES $5,000 TO VETERANS COMMUNITY PROJECT
Group plans to build Tiny House Community in South Kansas City, Mo. 
Kansas City, Mo. (July 6, 2016) – On behalf of National President Francisca Guilford, National Secretary-Treasurer Jan Owens and Cara Day, Director of Programs and Communications, presented a check for $5,000 to Veterans Community Project, a nonprofit that will build tiny houses for veterans in the Kansas City area. The funds donated by the VFW Auxiliary will help combat veteran homelessness in the metro area.
In winter 2015, after becoming frustrated at seeing homeless veterans who couldn’t come in from the cold, Chris Stout, an Army veteran, teamed up with retired Marine Corps veteran Kevin Jamison, Navy reservist Mark Solomon, and others, including Army veteran Brandonn Mixon, to form the Veterans Community Project. Their goal is to build 52 tiny houses and a community center on four acres of land near 89th and Troost in Kansas City at what is being called Veterans Village.
“We want this to be a transitional housing community that will offer an opportunity for each veteran to heal from trauma and provide a place that will help them recover,” Jamison said.
The Veterans Community Project will work with all homeless veterans, but their focus will be on those who are not qualified for or are consistently failing in existing programs. They plan to provide mentoring, community outreach services, counseling services (focusing on PTSD), employment services and to connect homeless veterans with numerous benefits and services.
Actual building of the homes is set to begin once utilities and sewer lines have been installed and concrete for the pad sites has been poured. They plan to have ten 240-square-foot houses completed by the end of 2016. Each house costs approximately $10,000 to build and furnish. Housing items such as dishes, towels, sheets, toilet paper and toiletries are needed and food donations are also being accepted. Learn more at http://www.veteranscommunityproject.org or watch a video about their mission here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwsS8FqfgkY.
Photo L-R: Cara Day, Director of Programs & Communications, VFW Auxiliary; Kevin Jamison, Vice-President, VCP; Brandonn Mixon, Director of Facilities, VCP; Chris Stout, President, VCP; Jan Owens, National Secretary-Treasurer, VFW Auxiliary