PLAV looking for alternate site

The Polish League of American Veterans still is looking for a location for its tiny village.

The Polish League of American Veterans still is looking for a location for its tiny village after being declined to host the project.

National Commander Robert Swan said the League, or PLAV, had been in talks with AMVETS leadership about placing the planned village on AMVETS property on Middle Avenue near the Elyria-Carlisle Township board and jumped the gun in making that information public which upset AMVETS members.

“They decided to not work with us on this particular project, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to do the project,” Swan said. “It just means we’re not going to do it on their property.”

He said the problem was that communication between the two veterans groups wasn’t as effective as he wanted it to be and due to the fact he holds a full time job in Illinois, he only is in Ohio once in a while.

The idea for the village is to build a community of veterans of differing backgrounds, Swan said.

“When I say (different backgrounds), I mean some that have a history of homelessness, some that are getting out of that situation and also people who are veterans who would like to be in a veteran-type community,” he said. “A lot of them, when they go into active duty, they tend to be in these communities of other veterans and families of veterans.

“Sometimes that’s something they’d like to get back to and they really can’t because they’re not active duty. So, they’re really not allowed to live there.”

While the homes in the village would be reserved for veterans, other parts of the proposed village such as a community center, would be open to the public, Swan said.

“The veterans would have first priority of course,” he said. “But everyone would have the ability to come in and have some fun.

“To me, that would help integrate the veterans back into the community even more.”

He said the Polish League of American Veterans already has been contacted by different groups in the Lorain area which have presented alternate properties.

And there has been word of interest and funding in Michigan, but Swan said that still is in the very early stages.