Bridgeport veterans nonprofit receives $1.5M for upgrades
BRIDGEPORT — A nonprofit veterans organization in Bridgeport will receive a $1.5 million state grant for building and service upgrades.
The funds, announced by Gov. Ned Lamont on Monday, will be used to build an elevator and private rooms for health care consultations.
Vince Santilli, CEO of Homes for the Brave, said the funds come as it serves an aging veteran population. The majority of those veterans served as of 2021 are over the age of 45, according to a Homes for the Brave community report.
“It will be incredible for us because we have a basement and three floors here on our headquarters in our 42-bed, men’s transitional house. Many of our men have canes and so forth,” Santilli said.
He said the organization will use the grant to build 12 private rooms with their own restrooms. Residents can use the rooms for telehealth appointments. Santilli said some of the new rooms and the elevator will be built in a small wing to the rear of the building. Construction, he said, is expected to conclude by September 2023.
According to the nonprofit’s report, many mental health services were only available via telehealth and they saw an increase in demand due to the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors including post-traumatic stress disorder.
Santilli said the elevator will allow veterans to stay at the facility instead of being moved elsewhere.
“It was just unsafe to have them on the stairs and (have to) move to other facilities where there were elevators. This will then give us the opportunity to serve our veterans,” he said.
The nonprofit served 102 people experiencing homelessness in 2021, according to its report. Of those served, 89 percent were veterans. The majority of those served are male, with African Americans making up 39 percent while white residents made up 41 percent. Hispanics made up 13 percent while 7 percent were from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. The report said 98 percent had some kind of disability, the most common being mental illness.
Santilli credited state and local officials with obtaining the funds.
“It’s special when you can do for those who have done so much for our country and protect the freedoms we hold dear,” said State Rep. Antonio Felipe, DBridgeport. “This money will deliver accessibility, privacy and a fuller sense of dignity to the men who walk through the doors of Homes for The Brave.”
Lamont said the new rooms are a way for the state to show its gratitude to veterans.
“We owe them an eternal debt of gratitude. And one way we can show that is by taking this facility, which goes back well over 100 years and turn it into something special. Turn it into something where you have your own private room, your own private bath, and a little bit of respect, a little bit of dignity,” Lamont said.