On a hot Tuesday morning, Army veteran Kevin Curtis gives tours inside a finished housing unit known as Valor House to curious guests.
All in their own way are supporters of the United States military who say they want what's best for veterans, and this goes double when it comes to affordable housing.
Curtis, who moved into the complex in February, was in transitional housing for about three months, and it didn’t feel like a home to him.
“I mean, they say that's your house, but to me it was everybody's,” Curtis said. “Ever since I came and got here, I've been living in my own place, and I enjoy it, I really do, and it's quiet.”
Curtis is a military man through and through, and he said he loves to be in communities with people who have also served. He said some people have similar experiences and stories, and no subject is taboo at Valor House.
“I've had my depression, I've had things I've been going through, and they’ll either call me or come to my room and knock on my door just to make sure I'm good,” he said.
The Valor House is the third permanent housing complex for homeless veterans on the campus of the St. Michael's Veterans Center at 3838 Chelsea Drive in Kansas City. A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday marked the completion of both construction on Valor House and the nonprofit's 15-year master campus plan.
The Valor House has 62 units, bringing the combined total of all complexes on campus to 179 units. It has been slowly admitting occupants since the beginning of the year, when the first units were ready and available.
So far, around 60 people have moved into the units, some of which have two bedrooms for family members or buddy veterans.
Susan Engel serves as St. Michael’s executive director. She said the dreams of the late Art Fillmore, a St. Michael’s board chairman, align with her goal to provide affordable housing to the veteran community.
“Art believed our nation had a responsibility to ensure veterans were not forgotten after their service ended,” she said.
She noted, as a former social worker, that when veterans are forced to live on the street, their humanity can be stripped away from them. She said society must play a role in establishing more permanent housing and recognizing homeless veterans as human beings, something St. Michael’s has been working on.
“What we're trying to accomplish is to give people to be treated with dignity and to give them the space where they feel fully human again,” she said.
The organization's data shows that 98% of St. Michael’s veterans remain in permanent housing, while 90% choose each year to continue to live specifically at the St. Michael's housing complex.
St. Michael’s is now moving forward with the completion of Patriot Park, which will serve as a place of remembering those who served with the U.S. military, Engel said.
