A building to help homeless vets rebuild their lives had groundbreaking today.
National Church Residence released this information:
....The east Columbus site is located at 3341 E. Livingston Avenue (43227), between Zettler and Barnett Roads, behind Heritage Day Health Center. The Commons at Livingston is National Church Residences’ fourth permanent supportive housing facility, and the organization’s first supportive housing facility exclusively for veterans. Services at the Commons at Livingston will mirror those provided at The Commons at Grant, National Church Residences’ existing downtown permanent supportive housing facility at the intersection of Grant Avenue and Fulton Street, which opened in 2003. The Veterans Administration will provide supportive services and case management at the facility. Military and Humvee support at the ceremony will be provided by soldiers from the Ohio National Guard, who will also raise the American and POW flags. Additional support will be provided by American Legion Post 283.
The three-story building will consist of 50 one-bedroom apartment units; 25 units will be available to single, low-income veterans with annual earnings at or below 60% of the area median income (approximately $28,860, per 2010 income limits). The remaining 25 units will offer permanent, supportive housing for formerly homeless veterans who are candidates of the Community Shelter Board’s “Rebuilding Lives” initiative. The objective of the initiative is to help end the cycle of homelessness by creating permanent, supportive housing. Supportive housing is a strategic means of linking residents to those services, such as social, educational, therapeutic, vocational, and health care support programs necessary to stabilize and maintain housing and affect lifestyle change. The Commons at Livingston will include a community room; computer resource room; 24-hour staffed entry; meeting room for resident services; and interior and exterior security cameras. On-site supportive services will be available to all 50 residents of The Commons at Livingston. All units will receive rent subsidies via the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority project-based housing choice vouchers.....
.....According to National Church Residences President & CEO Thomas W. Slemmer, “National Church Residences has received phenomenal cooperation on The Commons at Livingston from Mayor Coleman, Columbus City Council, the Franklin County Commissioners, the Community Shelter Board, and, most notably, from the Veterans Administration.....
According to NCR, among the departments/agencies that provided funding for the facility were the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Community Shelter Board, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Republican Rep. Steve Stivers said (see link) that he wanted to eliminate the Department of Housing and Urban Development, one of the departments that provided funding for this project for veterans.
I wonder why Republican Rep. Pat Tiberi was invited to speak. He clearly did not contribute to this new building. As a matter of fact, Tiberi and his buddy, Stivers, voted for the Paul Ryan budget which kills Medicare. Many of the veterans in this special apartment building probably are receiving some Medicare benefits.
