Housing for homeless female veterans to open in Canton
CANTON – First-of-its-kind housing in the Akron-canton area is now available for homeless female veterans.
Veterans Services of Family & Community Services is opening its latest facility called Honor Home Charlie on Canton’s northeast side. The Ravennabased agency manages two other Canton homes — both for men — which are adjacent to the new facility for women.
The home on Maxine Avenue NE will be a transitional facility solely for homeless female veterans, who are single or have children. No other facility like it exists in the region, program officials said.
The 2,424-square-foot, single-floor dormitory has enough space for several families and/or up to eight individuals. All eligible women must be the head of their households and custodial parent to apply.
The agency plans to start accepting applications soon.
“Women are the most visible in uniform and the most invisible out of uniform,” said Kristine Stanley, a retired veteran and assistant director of Veterans Services of Family & Community Services.
There are about 1.3 million men and women on active-duty or less than 1% of the U.S. population. Roughly 16% of active military are enlisted women and 19% are female officers, according to 2018 statistics from the Council of Foreign Relations.
Additionally, the U.S. has 19.2 million military veterans and 10% of them are women, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reported in February 2020.
VA officials have said women are the fastest growing population of homeless veterans, “and are more likely to be homeless with children.”
“We get overlooked every time when it comes to planning housing” for veterans, Stanley said.
According to the agency, most of the funding comes from Veterans Affairs. However, the Stark County Veterans Service Commission and former U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci also made donations.
Renacci donated two facilities used for Honor Homes.
In a statement, Renacci said he comes from a family of veterans and is “well aware of the sacrifice of our men and women” in the service. “We also cannot forget those veterans who have since retired and may not be able to get back quickly into the mainstream of life.”
Matthew Slater, director of Veterans Services of Family & Community Services, said the program has been helping homeless veterans since 2005. This marked the first female transitional facility outside of Cleveland.
They also operate beds for homeless veterans in Mahoning, Portage, Summit, Lorain and Trumbull counties. Those are permanent facilities, Slater said.
The new home for female veterans has multiple units with several common spaces, such as the kitchen. There also is a play area for children, a study area and a living room.
Stanley said all eligible female veterans will have six months to two years to gain steady employment and find a permanent home. She added residents will eventually pay some rent.
Stanley said the agency will provide support, helping the veterans stay on “their journey” until they can transition into a permanent situation.
Slater said all veterans, regardless of gender, need to be supported.
The three Honor Homes in Stark County are expected to serve 75 to 100 veterans each year. For more information, call 330-752-2134 or the Stark County Homeless Hotline at 330-4524363.
Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-5808667 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com
On Twitter @bduerrep