PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A longtime veterans service organization in Bucks County is in a race to find a new home after its landlord decided against renewing its lease in Newtown.
For the last 11 years, Salute2Service has been a staple for veterans living in Bucks County as a one-stop shop for all their needs.
“We provide food, clothing, and resources for veterans to help them access their military records,” said founder Rodney Wyatt.
Wyatt, a Marine and Army veteran, founded the organization in Bristol, but moved to a new facility in Newtown in 2022. The organization will have to vacate that facility by Dec. 6, and Wyatt’s been scrambling to find a new home or risk temporarily shutting down.
“They depend on our services here,” he said. “There’s gonna be a lot of people impacted by our shutdown, and I think it could border on the point of devastation.”
Amid the government shutdown, Wyatt said, the food pantry became the most vital service, bringing upwards of 90 families to the facility every Wednesday for weekly handouts. It also became a place for veterans to gather among themselves and create community.
“A lot of them just come to be around other veterans. They’re gonna miss that camaraderie that they share,” he said.
A property records search revealed Chandler Hall Health Services to be the landlord for Salute2Service over the last three years.
In a statement to KYW Newsradio, CEO John Whitman said, “We hold the mission of Salute2Service in the highest regard and were pleased to donate space to the organization rent-free for over three years. We continue to wish them success and look forward to partnering with them in other ways in the future.”
Wyatt says even if he has to operate out of tents for a time, he will do so until he finds another home for Salute2Service.
“Our motto for Salute2Service is leave no veteran behind,” he said. “We have to be there for these men and women, because we’re the only gap services that they have.”