SHELBYVILLE, Ky. -- While many on this Memorial Day weekend are remembering those who paid the ultimate price defending our country, for others it signifies the start of a second chance.
Saturday was the grand opening of the Veterans Village and Community Center. A group of six houses for those who are working with Veteran’s Club programs and looking to get their lives back on track following their military service.
“It’s going to be swell to see the guys coming around,” said David Ross, a U.S. Marine Core veteran who served from 1980 to 1984. Ross joined the program and has been living in the home since October.
A grand opening for the Veterans Village was held on May 29, 2021.
Veteran’s Club Founder and president Jeremy Harrell says many vets contemplate suicide and struggle with depression. Being given a year for the program will give them a chance at changing their lives for the better.
“Whether it’s something major or it’s something minor that they just need to overcome we just want to really do life with them and kind of help them through that,” said Harrell.
The community center next door is where veterans will be taught how to keep track of their finances, learn to create a budgets and resumes – even take cooking classes – all to help them get back into society on their own.
A grand opening for the Veterans Village was held on May 29, 2021.
Five people are in the program with the homes and three currently live there – including Ross.
Veterans can stay for a year, while they’re taking part in the classes and working to better themselves.
For Ross, that time has already come. After seven months, he is looking to leave in the next month to start a life of his own. Although he’ll no longer live there, he doesn’t plan on being a stranger.
A grand opening for the Veterans Village was held on May 29, 2021.
“I plan on coming down and helping the other veterans out,” said Ross.
While so many veterans face depression and suicide, Ross says he’s seen how the program has worked for other, and now he is part of that group and considers himself a success story.
“One of them. There’s other ones that have been before me and have already moved out and are doing well. Yeah, we just keep going,” said Ross.
The donations for the tiny home village are all through private and corporate donations. Harrell says he hopes to add more homes to the area and Shelby County.
Related Stories:
- Veteran's Club now running programs at Shelbyville veteran village
- Veteran's Club to host equine therapy session on Memorial Day
- Veteran's Club hands out supplies to keep homeless warm
Copyright 2021 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
