WS Chronicle

Photo by Todd Luck

BY TODD LUCK

THE CHRONICLE

Whole Man Ministries is continuing its efforts to expand its program to house homeless veterans after being .

Whole Man Ministries, a church located on Lexington Avenue, made a request for a city grant of $25,000 for its Homes 4 Our Heroes veterans’ efforts. The requested funds were $15,000 for a part-time housing placement coordinator and $10,000 for utility and rental assistance to veterans.

Currently Gerald Green is acting as housing coordinator on a volunteer basis. He finds veterans in shelters or substandard housing and works to get them vouchers from Veterans Affairs to get them into permanent housing. The funds would’ve made his position a paid one and allowed the program to give additional assistance to those it places.

“It’s amazing for me to see a people, the veterans, that have fallen and need a helping hand,”

he said. “Once such a vital part of our society, to see them where they seem like they’ve lost their  dignity, but when they get keys to their own place, to see the change in them, it’s amazing.”

The city gave grants to various community organizations in this year’s budget like the Arts Council, Experiment in Self Reliance and HARRY Veterans Community Outreach Organization. Those organizations were chosen based on the recommendations of the Community Agency Allocation Committee. The committee is made of nine citizens who review city grant requests. Other organizations that were turned down this year were Women of Wisdom, Josh Howard Foundation, Industries for the Blind, and a Freedom Tree at IDR (Institute for Dismantling Racism) initiative called Share Cooperative of Winston-Salem.

Separately, Whole Man has been raising funds to finish restoring its last house on Cameron Avenue. Homes 4 Our Heroes has used volunteer labor to convert five dilapidated houses on Cameron into duplexes for homeless veterans. Currently, four are completed and house six veterans. BB&T has given$20,000 in donations and in-kind volunteer labor to the last house. The project still has $30,000 to go and, if all goes well, it will be completed by Veterans Day of this year.

Whole Man pastor Barry Washington said he plans to fund the effort by raffling a donated car and applying for other grants.

“We will continue to push forward and try to raise funds,” he said.

He said though the city donated the buildings and gave his organization a loan to help pay for some of the rehab work, Homes 4 Our Heroes has yet to receive a grant from the city.

Two houses at other sites were donated to the cause, one is currently occupied with a veteran and the other is in need of rehabilitation before it can be used.