Community Highlight: Welcome Home Veterans
Podcast Transcription
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Maddy: Hello everyone, thank you for joining me for another episode of PFCU’s Money Talk podcast. For this episode, I sat down with Kimberly Singer with Welcome Home Veterans. She shares the mission of Welcome Home Veterans and their plans for the future, gives us the amazing backstory of how the organization was born and you really get to see the passion that everyone involved has for their mission. It’s truly incredible what they’re doing for our nation’s heroes. So, I really hope that you enjoy this interview as much as I did. And here she is.
I have Kimberly Singer here with me from Welcome Home Veterans.
Kimberly: Good morning.
Maddy: Good Morning! How are you today?
Kimberly: I'm good. Great. Thank you.
Maddy: Good. If you want to talk about what Welcome Home Veterans is all about, that would be great. Maybe some background and all that good stuff.
Kimberly: Sure, okay. Thank you. So, Welcome Home Veterans is a Michigan nonprofit organization that was developed as a direct result of veterans' basic needs going unmet. And I formed the nonprofit. We actually formed the LLC and the corporation in 2014, and then got our nonprofit status February 20th of 2015, and then bought an elementary school in Bancroft, formerly known as the Wilbur Bills Elementary School, from the Durand Area School District. And that was August 29th of 2016. And then had to overcome some hurdles, shall we say. So, we were not exactly embraced or supported by the Bancroft village at that time. But we have since then been rezoned and our plans have been approved and that just happened. So unfortunately, there were attorneys that had to be involved, but we have overcome and that is all behind us now and we are on a go forward basis. So, our mission is to provide housing to veterans in a safe and healthy environment that promotes spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental well-being. And that's exactly what we intend to do. So, we've been in fundraising mode for the last, well, many few years. It cost approximately $16,000 a year just to maintain the building in its empty state.
Maddy: Oh wow.
Kimberly: Yeah. Yep. So, that is the reason that Durand area schools were also selling two of their elementary schools. I mean, families are no longer large like they used to be in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. And so, enrollment has significantly declined. And so, they don't have a need for these elementary schools anymore so, we were blessed and very fortunate to have been able to purchase and that happened in 2016. So, plans of this magnitude take a lot of time. The planning phase of any project, of course, is always the longest.
Maddy: Yeah.
Kimberly: Yeah.
Maddy: So, you are founder of Welcome Home Veterans.
Kimberly: I am.
Maddy: Correct?
Kimberly: Yeah.
Maddy: Could you talk about your journey to the decision to start this up and kind of what maybe you were seeing in your community and the need there for veterans?
Kimberly: I sure can. Great question. So, it was in 2013 that I got a phone call from a gal in St. Johns and some veterans had been exploited financially and also with their housing situation. So, when I got this phone call I told her that I would come and help and I did. She had seven veterans left that needed to be placed. And because I own assisted living, that's why she called me.
Maddy: Oh, okay.
Kimberly: So, I hadn't assisted living in Elsie and here in Owosso, but I did not have any vacancies. I had no open beds at that time. So, I started calling around and found that we had a place in Greenville that was willing to take veterans. And we transported, I physically put some of these veterans in my car and transported them to Greenville. And it was just a sad situation because the person who did the abuse was, she fled to Florida. Since then was, you know, made to come back and kind of face the music but she had exploited veterans in St. Johns and in Grand Rapids. So, when I went there and I saw what I seen, it was not feasible for even animals to be living in. So, they were left in the cold and in the dark and without food and this particular employee and her husband were feeding them and it had already been reported to the state of Michigan. So, they were trying to get emergency services out there to these people, knowing they were going to have to be displaced. So, then I started doing research and found out that 22 veterans a day commit suicide, which is obviously 22 too many, and that our American heroes were really struggling. And deprogramming them from combat is not anything that I feel that our government is really supportive at doing. So, many of them end up homeless, they end up self-medicating through alcohol and drug use. And I think that it's gotten a lot better, I will say that. I think that navigating through the VA is a real cumbersome and challenging, it's very tough unless you have an advocate. So, working with some VSOs, which are Veterans Service Officers, I've learned how to navigate and help these veterans get the benefits that they deserve. So, that's how the whole thing started and I had several people in the community that were supportive and wanting to back us and we were looking for some place we could call home. We didn't even know about the building yet. So, it sat on 15 acres and near I-69. So, it's a home for Mid-Michigan veterans. It's honestly a home for any veteran, you know, but it's located in Mid-Michigan. So, any veteran that needs help and we know that there are veterans that are living in their cars with their dependent wives and children. So, it's never good for anyone, especially our American heroes.
Maddy: Right.
Kimberly: So, we found the elementary school that sits on 15 acres and our plans started with being able to serve 34 veterans. And now with the plans that had to be basically new versions, updating in accordance with the zoning to fulfill the dwelling units. And just the definition of the new zoning, we're at 31 beds, so we lost only three beds. But you know, we will have room to grow if... if there's a need for that, which I can't imagine that there's not. But we'll go back to the village and I think that they'd be willing to work with us once they see what we're getting ready to do.
Maddy: Yeah, that's pretty incredible.
Kimberly: Yeah. And it's, it's a huge undertaking, let's shall we say.
Maddy: Yeah.
Kimberly: It's a 20,000 square foot home that needs to be mitigated. And it's, you know, it's much easier to build from the ground up than to transform a school that is basically needs to be abated because of lead and/or asbestos.
Maddy: Right! Wow.
Kimberly: You know, that's a process in and of itself. And then you have to, of course, upgrade the sewer systems and the drainage field and you name it. So.
Maddy: Yeah, when you have all these families coming in and living there, yeah, that changes a lot.
Kimberly: Right. Yeah. So, it's mostly going to be primarily, I'm thinking, men. But there will be a wing for women and children that will be secure.
Maddy: Oh okay. Nice.
Kimberly: Yeah.
Maddy: That's awesome.
Kimberly: Yeah. So, we're really, I mean, we're very excited. I mean, we have our upcoming fundraiser, which is our annual golf outing, which is just in two days.
Maddy: Oh, all right.
Kimberly: It's August 5th at Twinbrooks Golf Course in Chesaning.
Maddy: Okay.
Kimberly: And we're actually raffling off a 2023 golf cart this year. So, it's our first time ever being involved in a raffle, which was another learning experience. So, it's been a huge opportunity for growth, both personal and professional for me and I'm learning a lot. We have an incredible board, primarily made up of veterans. So.
Maddy: Yeah, it's probably good to have that board made up of veterans because they have lived it, right? And they know that need and give that perspective that maybe...
Kimberly: Some of them, I mean, many, I mean, our board members have never been homeless, but they've been in combat, they've been abroad, they've been to, you know, foreign countries.
Maddy: Understand that part of it.
Kimberly: So, they do understand that part of it. They understand what camaraderie is and that that's important for their brothers and the sisterhood, you know, that they develop. So, we've had an incredible amount of donors and sponsors, a lot of support with the project. It's just a very, very expensive project when you're renovating a building like this. So, it's crucial to be involved in applying for grants and that's where we're at right now. We're working with a veteran that has an enormous amount of connections with Congress. So, we're grateful.
Maddy: Big things happening.
Kimberly: Yes, yes, very much so.
Maddy: You talked about your golf outing. Are there any other fundraising events you want to talk about? How can people donate if they'd like to donate? Or even businesses or other organizations that would like to partner with you?
Kimberly: Thank you.
Maddy: Could you speak to that a little bit?
Kimberly: Yeah, sure. So, I always put my phone number out there. But we do have our website and it is whvusa.org. So, I welcome everyone to join our Facebook page, you can email us welcomehomeveteransusa@gmail.com. But our website again is whvusa.org. And you can always call me at any time 989-277-9292. The other fundraisers that we have coming up we have a chili cook-off and that last year was a great success and that is right around November 11th, we do that right around Veterans Day every year. So, Veterans Day this year is, well, it's reserved on the 10th, but it's on the 11th. And so, Veterans Day is November 11th and then our Chili Cook-Off is going to be on Friday, November 3rd.
Maddy: Okay. That sounds fun.
Kimberly: Yeah.
Maddy: Where does that take place at?
Kimberly: That takes place right there at Welcome Home Veterans. 251 Prior Road in Bancroft.
Maddy: Perfect. All right, is there anything else you wanted to talk about while we’re here?
Kimberly: Well, I just want to give a big shout out to our board. We have an incredible board, a working board. My daughter started this project with me. Her name is Brooke Sabaj and my husband is a board member. He's very much so involved, Brent Singer and Bob Hardy is our treasurer and Sheila Harrow is our secretary. So, we’re very much so, close knit. Our pastor, Brian Keesler from New Creation Church is involved, Kevin Rathbun is a 20 year Army veteran. So again, we're very blessed to have the support that we have. Greg Bigger is a veteran. He's not a board member, but he is an advisor and he's been instrumental in opening up the doors of opportunity here. So just getting us in front of the right people.
Maddy: Right. Yeah, that's huge.
Kimberly: It's who you know.
Maddy: It is. Making those connections.
Kimberly: Making the connections. Yeah. So, I'm grateful, you know, our drawings and renderings are completed. And now we all have to just kind of follow the recipe, so to speak.
Maddy: That's very exciting. I didn't know where you were in the process of like, I didn't know the elementary school still needed to be renovated and that was still in motion. So, it'll be exciting to see that come along.
Kimberly: It is. That part of it’s very exciting. Now that we've gotten our approvals, but we've had to fight for this project and now that we've overcome some of those hurdles, now this is kind of where the rubber meets the road and we're grateful. We're very grateful for the people that are involved.
Maddy: Yeah. That’s incredible.
Kimberly: You know, people come and go from any organization. That's any nonprofit. We've had board members that come and go, many board members that have volunteered an enormous amount of their time and we cannot, you know, our hearts are overflowing with gratitude for that.
Maddy: Well, thank you so much.
Kimberly: Well, I thank you. Thank you for your interest.
Maddy: Of course.
Kimberly: PFCU is another big supporter of ours. I can't thank John Knickerbocker enough. You know, he's right there and he and his wife are big into supporting veterans.
Maddy: They are, yes, they do a lot with that and he even is a part of, within PFCU, we have a veterans committee that works with seeing what we can do internally to support veterans and he's been a big piece of that so it's really cool to see that get off the ground.
Kimberly; Yeah, he shared that with all of us when they did a check presentation to us a few months ago and so yeah, we were very very grateful. But we work hand in hand with the Durand VFW post 2272, the Reed Raymond and they have supported us since day one. AMVETS of Durand have supported us. I mean, we have a lot of wonderful people that have supported us. 100+ Women Who Care, we were chosen for that donation. So, that was in 2016, which we are eligible to revisit, you know, so we plan to do that this fall. But that said, we just, our hearts are overflowing with gratitude. I can't say that enough, but you know, our vision is to seek and meet the needs of veterans in Mid-Michigan by ensuring that they are housed and sustained and healthy and employed and mobile and just educated and really hope-filled. Fully integrating them back into the community of their choice. So, our project is for short-term, transitional or long term, whatever the veteran needs. So, that looks different for everyone. Everyone's circumstances are unique and they're special to that person. So, if they only need to be there for six months, but if they need to be there for six years and say that they're an elderly veteran and they need a final resting place, then they can, it's their home. They can bring in home care. They can bring in hospice. Will we as Welcome Home Veterans be providing that? No.
Maddy: But you're just providing the home for them and then-
Kimberly: We're providing the housing. Yeah. It's their home.
Maddy: Yeah.
Kimberly: So, they can have services coming in and out just like anybody can. Any elderly person can have home care services come into their personal home.
Maddy: Right.
Kimberly: And if they choose to die at home, they can have hospice organizations come in for their final resting. It's no different here.
Maddy: Yeah. That's so cool. I love that.
Kimberly: Yeah. Thank you.
Maddy: I love learning more about this. That's awesome what you're doing.
Kimberly: Yeah. Thank you, Maddy.
Maddy: You're welcome.
Kimberly: Thank you for your time, and thank you for choosing us.
Maddy: Thank you! Yeah, of course.
Kimberly: You know, it's near and dear to my heart. It's a calling. It's a passion.
Maddy: I can tell. I mean, it was incredible listening to you and learning more.
Kimberly: Thank you.
Maddy: All right. Well, thank you so much.
Kimberly: Thank you. Have a great day.
Maddy: Yeah, you too.
Thank you again to Kimberly for taking the time out of her busy schedule to sit down with me and share a little bit about Welcome Home Veterans. Please visit their website at whvusa.org and Kimberly said you can give her a call anytime at 989-277-9292. Thanks for listening.
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