The historic Milwaukee Soldiers Home and surrounding buildings will get a new lease on life this month, when they are slated to open as permanent housing for veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
According to a VA blog post, the project includes Old Main, which opened in 1867 as one of the three original Soldiers Homes. President Abraham Lincoln established the homes after the Civil War to provide homes for disabled veterans.
Related
Also included in the project are the Administration Building just south of Old Main, three nearby duplexes and a separate single-family home on the campus.
A number of groups and individuals have come together to ensure that veterans living in the facilities will have what they need when they move in, the blog post states. Military Outreach USA has donated 40 mattresses with box springs, bed frames and pillows. The Junior League of Milwaukee is giving gift bags that include welcome notes along with dish towels, cleaning supplies, hot pads and treats.
Erin Olson of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation has gathered items for each of the 101 units. Those items range from shower curtains and garbage cans to blankets and soap to be included in welcome baskets. Members of the West Suburban Quilters Guild of Brookfield have created handmade quilts for the veterans.
Olson’s efforts on the project’s behalf are the result of her work with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, which was part of the fundraising arm of the renovation project. About a year ago, she began a welcome baskets collection outside of work.
Related
“Our goal is to turn these apartments into homes and provide some comfort for the veterans so they have some things of their own,” she said.
Reaching out to friends, families and colleagues via social media, Olson was able to collect some $5,000 worth of items that will be gathered into the 101 welcome baskets.
Collected in a laundry basket is soap, bath towels, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, kitchen towels, bathmats, potholders, conditioner, combs and a variety of other home essentials. In addition, each basket will include a card offering encouragement and inspiration.
She also collected books, puzzles, DVDs and games for the buildings’ common areas.
“It’s not just one and done,” Olson said. “We hope to come back with other items, including artwork, plants and other things once people are settled. We hope this is just the start.”
Milwaukee VA reached out to Military Outreach USA, which provided the beds for the project.
“We’re so excited to do this,” said Sue Brown of Military Outreach USA, noting the group works with veterans exiting homelessness. “Normally we do this on a small, as-needed basis. This is 40 beds. That’s a big thing for us.”
The Milwaukee Soldiers Home has been vacant since 1989. The 18-month renovation was led by Alexander Co. and general contractor JP Cullen.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
Want to get more connected to the great resources Connecting Vets has to offer? Click here to sign up for our weekly newsletter.