Project looks to build housing for veterans in all 21 counties

At the site of an upcoming construction project on North Avenue in Westfield, a small group of people gathered on Jan. 14 to engage in the time-honored “photo op” of digging shovels into the ground.

This, however, was not a simple construction project.

There was much more behind this effort than a photo or the upturned earth on the shovels could reveal.

Those assembled on this chilly day were celebrating a significant new component of a much larger and more ambitious effort aimed at ending veterans’ homelessness in New Jersey.

The organization at the crux of this initiative is the Foundation for Sustainable Veterans Housing (FSVH), a relatively new nonprofit whose founder is looking to shake things up when it comes to solving the veterans’ homeless crisis.

“The words veteran and homelessness should never be in the same sentence,” Executive Director Joe Mindak said.

It is Mindak’s vision that serves as the catalyst for this activity.

His goal is to build a veterans housing facility in each of New Jersey’s 21 counties.

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The groundbreaking in Westfield on Jan. 14 was for the Union County facility.

One such building already has been opened in Hudson County, in Hoboken. Others are in the planning stage.

Mindak has brought in numerous partners to realize his vision – most prominently, the American Legion.

“Most of the American Legion halls in the state are pretty old, dating back to the 1940’s,” he said. “In Hoboken, we completely renovated the American Legion Hall. We built apartments on its second floor which serve as housing for veterans. We can replicate the Hoboken model and bring it to American Legion halls across the state.”

Allan Betau, an Air Force veteran and former Commander of American Legion Post #3 in Westfield, is on board. He is currently the 2nd Vice Commander of the post and the liaison with the FSVH. He participated in the Jan. 14 groundbreaking.

“This is something we need to do,” he said.

“Joe came to us about two and a half years ago. We had no sustainable housing for veterans in Westfield. Joe was the protagonist. He has been with us every step of the way, helping us with government regulations and fund raising. We are going to get this done no matter what we need to do.”

A third partner in the Westfield project is REDCOM Design & Construction, which donated its architectural and engineering talents to the project, CEO Ryan Teicher said.

“We knew this was something we wanted to be involved in from the moment Joe brought it to us,” he said at the groundbreaking. “The vision [in Westfield] is to build a new American Legion Hall on the first floor with ballrooms the Legion can use for themselves or potentially rent out to create a revenue stream. The second floor would have 22 units for housing.”

Mindak estimates the construction on the Westfield facility will begin in 3-6 months.

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Mindak stresses the Hoboken and Westfield projects can serve as a blueprint for building similar facilities in the remaining 19 counties.

“Hoboken has been open for about four years,” Mindak said. “The same veterans that moved in there are still there. This is not a shelter where someone comes for a meal and a shower. This is permanent housing. The veterans can stay as long as they like. They are working and paying a portion of their rent.”

The remainder of the rent is paid by government vouchers.

“The Westfield building will likely be the blueprint for the other facilities,” explained Teicher. “But each will be customized to blend into the area where it is built. But the components for the veterans will be consistent in each building.”

Teicher said the components include career services with resume writing, mental health services and physical therapy.

“We designed the facility with homeless veterans in mind,” he said. “All of the apartments are ADA compliant or ADA adaptable. The veterans are trying to integrate back into the workforce, so the Westfield location is just outside downtown, which affords them a chance for employment. They are near the train station which can take them anywhere in the state.”

Mindak said the benefits are huge – and help in the most important effort for veterans.

“This is a way for veterans to get their own homes which really helps them in a lot of ways, including reducing the suicide rate,” he said.

Betau agreed.

“We know homelessness is a major cause of veterans suicide,” he said. “I hope what we are doing in Westfield is a steppingstone to eradicate homelessness for veterans around the country.”

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Last November, on Veterans Day, Lt. Governor Tahisha Way announced the state would allocate $30 million to “combat veterans’ homelessness in New Jersey.”

Mindak, Betau and Teicher all agree the top priorities for the state should be to spend the money on housing and on “wraparound” services (e.g. mental health services and physical therapy programs, job training).

“The housing is not about providing a physical structure,” Mindak said. “It’s about creating a home. To do that, you have to help the veterans integrate into the community. That is what the wraparound service can do.”

Teicher agreed.

“When people see the homeless issue on a grand scale, they wonder how they can help fix it when there are so many homeless people,” he said. “But when you break it down from a state-by-state perspective, only about 500 veterans need homes in New Jersey. That is simple. We can fix that.”

Mindak did the math.

“If we do an average of 25 housing units per county, that gives us 525 units – just about what we need to provide a home for each homeless veteran in the state,” he said.

“I started the Foundation after we built the Hoboken facility. Hoboken was our learning curve – we had to figure out all the things that needed to be done. We have brought that knowledge together and now we can bring everyone under one roof. We have to work this in tandem. We are all on the same mission.”