Are tiny houses a solution to veteran homelessness? Glenn Grootegoed of Warrior Homesteads thinks so and he has been working to show it can be done since 2014. Warrior Homesteads builds tiny homes and works with veteran’s organizations to house homeless vets.
In 2018, the estimated number of veterans experiencing homelessnes in the U.S. was almost 38,000. (Source: HUD) According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, “The most effective programs for homeless and at-risk veterans are community-based, nonprofit, ‘veterans helping veterans’ groups. Programs that seem to work best feature transitional housing with the camaraderie of living in structured, substance-free environments with fellow veterans who are succeeding at bettering themselves.”
The Kroger Veterans Association Resource Group knows this because earlier this year, they approached Warrior Homesteads with an offer to work with them to build a tiny house for a deserving veteran in the Cincinnati area. The home needed to be ready for their annual “Honoring Our Heroes” 5K Run/Walk. VersiFoam was honored to be a small part of that effort by providing the spray foam used for the insulation of the new house.
On June 15, 2019, before the start of the 5K, a local homeless veteran was given the tiny home. It was equipped with high-quality, eco-friendly appliances. The house contained a kitchen, bathroom, full-sized bed, and storage space. And it was well insulated.
The Warrior Homestead Facebook page on May 20th said, “Thanks to our friends at VersiFoam it’s insulation day!!!!! We are working on the 2019 Kroger Honoring Our Heroes Festival and 5K tiny house project. We are huge fans of VersiFoam, as it’s simply the best!” And we are huge fans of Warrior Homesteads.
Here are some pics from the day…
