Veterans village opening set

Homeless veterans in Mason County can apply to live in one of the 30 units at the long-delayed Shelton Veterans Village, under construction on North 13th Street near Olympic College Shelton and projected to open in June.

Local homeless veterans can apply for residency through Crossroads Housing by calling 360-490-6510, the local "coordinated entry system" for the nonprofit Quixote Communities. The village will feature seven four-plexes, one duplex and a community building.

On Friday, a crew from Forma Construction was insulating walls and the ceiling in the community building, which will include a laundry room, two bathrooms, three offices and a boardroom. The sheetrock is expected this week.

"Everything has been moving along beautifully," Colleen Carmichael, executive director of Quixote Communities, said in an interview with the Journal.

Crossroads Housing is overseeing the waiting list and will contact Quixote about potential residents. Applicants must be a veteran, pass a urinalysis and background checks, and make 50% or less of the Area Medium Income. Residents must also sign a code of conduct with their lease, which prohibits violence, weapons, drugs and other illegal behaviors. Residents will pay 30% of their income in rent.

"Funding is tied to veterans, so we have to put veterans in there," Carmichael said.

Quixote Communities also has tiny home villages in Olympia and Orting.

Graydon Holden is the superintendent of the Forma Construction crew building the Shelton Veterans Home. With a different company, the Shelton native was also part of the crew that built the veterans village in Olympia.

Ground was broken in September. As expected, the crew has been working a lot in the cold and rain, Holden said.

"Instead of pouring concrete, you're de-watering your foundations," Holden said. He added, "We've had snow on site multiple times."

Quixote Communities received a $1 million grant from the Washington State Housing Trust Fund for the project. Quixote Communities also received capital from Mason County, the Federal Home Loan Bank, the Northcliffe Foundation, Medina Foundation, and Project-Based Vouchers and VASH Vouchers from the Bremerton Housing Authority. The nonprofit also received support from the city. Former State Sen. Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch, championed the project from its inception.

One of the final actions for completion is receiving a certificate of occupancy from the City of Shelton, Carmichael said.

Homelessness is a frequent topic of conversation in Mason County, whether it is people on the streets of downtown Shelton, camping in the woods outside the city, or in shelters and cars.

One misconception is that homeless people are lazy or don't care, which isn't the case with the tenants at the other two villages, Carmichael said.

"The opposite is true," she said. "They are grateful and doing their best to get back to their life before they were on the streets."