TORONTO – The recently-built village of tiny homes for Canadian veterans in Calgary is set to receive its new tenants today, as the Homes for Heroes Foundation marks the beginning of a pilot project to provide housing and other support to struggling ex-servicemen.
“The idea behind the village is to bring the veterans together so that they can interact and support each other,” said veteran support worker Don Mcleod on CTV’s Your Morning Friday.
“We find them, we’re going to house them, and we’re going to give them the opportunity to engage with programs we’re going to provide for them,” he said.
Mcleod said he had interviewed around 16 veterans so far and found that “the majority are coming from the homeless environment,” with financial, mental health or substance use difficulties.
“The program… will give them a place to stay and sleep, and then we can work together as a team to move them forwards… in their lives,” said Mcleod, adding that the “ultimate goal” will be to transition the veterans back to independent living in the broader community.
Mcleod said that the response from the community has been “incredible,” with organizations like the local foodbank and Veterans Affairs “stepping up” to provide support.
“We’ve had so many different organizations working so hard to assist in this project, which is why I say this is going to be such a wonderful success,” he said.
Mcleod said that the veterans can stay in the village as long as they need, but that his personal goal is to rehabilitate them back to independent living in the community “within a two year period.”
