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Ceremonial shovels sit in the dirt on Thursday during a groundbreaking event at 2112 Business Loop 70 E. The groundbreaking was held by Welcome Home Inc. for the beginning of construction on an emergency homeless shelter for veterans.
Mayor Brian Treece speaks to the attendees of a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday at 2112 Business Loop 70 E. Treece reiterated the city's support of helping homeless veterans find basic needs.
City officials, donors and supporters including Mayor Brian Treece, second from the right, get ready to move dirt on Thursday as part of a groundbreaking ceremony at 2112 Business Loop 70 E. Welcome Home Inc. expects the emergency homeless shelter for veterans to be finished by summer 2017.
Ceremonial shovels sit in the dirt on Thursday during a groundbreaking event at 2112 Business Loop 70 E. The groundbreaking was held by Welcome Home Inc. for the beginning of construction on an emergency homeless shelter for veterans.
Mayor Brian Treece speaks to the attendees of a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday at 2112 Business Loop 70 E. Treece reiterated the city's support of helping homeless veterans find basic needs.
City officials, donors and supporters including Mayor Brian Treece, second from the right, get ready to move dirt on Thursday as part of a groundbreaking ceremony at 2112 Business Loop 70 E. Welcome Home Inc. expects the emergency homeless shelter for veterans to be finished by summer 2017.
COLUMBIA — About 150 people attended a groundbreaking ceremony for Welcome Home's new emergency homeless shelter for veterans Wednesday morning.
The event included a host of speakers, including Mayor Brian Treece.
“I am painfully aware some of our veterans find themselves struggling to locate the very basics of food, clothing, shelter and supportive services,” Treece said. “I am very proud of our community in that we all recognize the sacrifices of our veterans as we work together to show our sincere thanks by providing services like Welcome Home.”
The 20,000-square-foot shelter will be built on two acres and is expected to house up to 32 veterans. It will include 32 apartments along with a computer lounge, community room, commercial kitchen and laundry room.
An artist's rendering of the new Welcome Home emergency shelter for homeless veterans that will be built at 2112 Business Loop 70 E.
Courtesy of Welcome Home
Welcome Home spokesman Chris Cline said in a news release that it will also include a corridor that will be flexible in size to accommodate women and families.
The shelter, along with the neighboring Patriot Place apartments that opened in April, will triple the number of veterans Welcome Home can serve. It will house administrative staff from both Welcome Home and the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veteran’s Hospital.
The building is scheduled to be done by next summer.
On average, veterans who stay at Welcome Home facilities spend three to five months there.
Welcome Home is mid-Missouri’s only emergency shelter for homeless veterans and is forced to turn away more than 150 people every year due to housing limitations. The non-profit program, founded in 1992 by a group of Vietnam veterans, helps veterans return to society and be productive.
“This veteran-only transitional living program facilitates recovery through social responsibility, personal engagement and individualized programming based upon the needs and desires of the Veteran,” its website says.
The groundbreaking ceremony began with the Veterans United Choir singing the national anthem. American flags, doughnuts and water were provided to the more than 150 people who attended.
A series of officials from Welcome Home, city government and donor organizations, including Welcome Home board President Terry Roberts and Greg Steinhoff, president of strategic operations at Veterans United, shared their thoughts on the project.
The facility is possible because of the many individual and several large donations that were made, including $1.5 million from Veterans United, a Columbia-based company that started in 2001 and specializes in home loans for veterans.
The groundbreaking concluded with the event’s speakers using gold shovels adorned with bows to move scoops of dirt. Attendees were invited to discuss the project with officials and view renderings of the construction.
