NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – On Monday, Operation Stand Down Tennessee (OSDTN) opened its new transitional housing facility for homeless veterans.
Since 1998, OSDTN has been operating out of seven houses. With the new building, all 42 homeless veterans will be under one roof. The group is made to accommodate 35 men and 7 women, serving as the state’s only housing program for female veterans.
Each resident will be given a private bedroom with a twin bed, storage, a mini fridge, a desk and an attached bathroom.
“The veterans who come into the program are dealing with a variety of different things, and having a space where you can close your door and get away from other people is really important,” said Eden Murrie, CEO of OSDTN. “If you need to get away and do your own thing, you’ve got your own room, you’ve got your own bathroom, you're not sharing the bathroom with 10 other men so that's a huge difference.”
The facility is separated into four wings with communal kitchens, laundry rooms, common areas and offices.
“The biggest difference of the folks not being in the houses and being all here together is the case managers will be on-site,” Murrie said. “Before, the folks in houses were having to come to our headquarters at that corner of Edgehill Ave. and 12th Ave. S to come to evening classes and all of that. Now, it’s all going to be here.”
On Tuesday, the 42 homeless veterans will move out of the 26-year-old houses and into the upgraded residence in Southeast Nashville.
“I'm just really excited to see the look on their faces when they walk into their own room,” Murrie said. “We're already doing great, but we're just going to increase the impact that we have in these veterans lives.”
For more information, visit the OSDTN website.
from WKRN News 2 https://ift.tt/u80PlCR
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