Tiny-home village for homeless veterans to open later this year

It’s been five years since Thomas Zimmerman Jr. formed Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania, the nonprofit behind “Veterans Grove,” a tiny-home village that will serve homeless veterans.

Veterans Grove will include 15 tiny homes and a community center at 1103 S. Front St. in Harrisburg on the site of the former Phoenix Steel Corp. Mill.

In those five years, the organization found land, which was donated by community member, Peggy Grove; had an environmental assessment done on the land; submitted plans to the city; raised more than $4 million and began construction. The group also hired staff including executive director, Bill Habacivch and clinical director, Angel McLaughlin. The nonprofit is currently working on policies and procedures for the complex.

Zimmerman hopes to have certificate of occupancy for the homes by the end of next month or early April and then finally open the doors to the community.

“We’re hoping to be up and running by late spring/ early summer with housing our veterans,” he said on Friday morning at Veterans Grove.

Employees from Renewal by Andersen of Central Pennsylvania were on site Friday volunteering.

“We have over 100 employees here today installing all the windows and exterior doors of the 15 tiny homes and the community center here at Veterans Grove in Harrisburg,” said Linda Johnston, chief culture officer at Renewal by Andersen of Central Pennsylvania.

The company announced in 2022 that it would be providing more than $536,000 in windows, doors and other items for the tiny home community.

Lucy Gnazzo, a spokesperson for Renewal by Andersen of Central Pennsylvania said after the company made that announcement, other companies also signed on to donate products and services.

The 210-square-foot homes will have a full bedroom, a full bathroom and a countertop with refrigerator underneath. There is space for five additional homes at a later time.

The 6,500-square-foot community center will include a dining hall, meditation room, commercial kitchen, offices, showers and a community room.

The village will be close to public transportation.

All spaces will be handicap accessible.

The entire complex will be built in the shape of a heart with the community center being the focal point of the village.

There will be a starshaped memorial in the complex with bricks that will be donated by veterans and relatives of veterans. Each of those bricks will have a veteran’s story attached to it.

“Some of them are family members buying for deceased members,” Habacivch said. “And they give us a 500-word story. And every day when we go into chow hall we read off that story. So even veterans who have passed and are deceased, are encouraging these veterans to get well and to come back home and to reintegrate at home once in for all.”

Residents will have access to health, wellness, counseling, education, employment and a myriad of other services. Some of the partners that will provide services include UPMC, the Veterans Administration, the YMCA and the Penn State Extension.

Residents will have an individual treatment plan and will participate in the making of the food, cleanup and maintenance and will help with other chores around the complex including lawn cutting and window washing.

Habacivch said Veterans Grove will use a therapeutic community model and there will be three phases for residents:

Phase 1 – Orientation Phase 2 – Treatment Phase 3 – Exit strategy: preparing a plan to find permanent housing

Habacivch said that each individual is different so the process might take six months for one person and it could take 18 months for another. He said the nonprofit hopes to start with housing about five veterans. He then hopes that people who are further along in the process will help those who are new to the complex.

“What we would like to see is people who have gone through a couple of phases talk to the people who are coming in,” he said.

Habacivch said the community center will serve all veterans who need help not just those that reside at the complex.

The Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania is asking people to donate $15 a month with the goal of signing up 2024 ongoing contributors in 2024 and 10,000 ongoing contributors within five years. Habacivch said if that goal is met it would bring in $1.5 million a year. Donations can be made on the organization’s website at www.veteransoutreachofpa.org. People can also sign up to volunteer on the website as well.

Zimmerman is happy that the complex will soon be open to serve veterans.

“It’s just amazing how the community has supported our vision in helping our veterans that are struggling,” he said. “To me it’s another chapter in our book. And we’re just in the infancy stages. Yes the bricks-inmortars are going to be done soon but really the therapeutic and the clinical model is what’s going to help our veterans.”