Keeping Those Who Served Housed: Inside Warrior Homes of Collier’s Veteran Support Services

Richard served in the U.S. Army from 1961 to 1963, stationed in Thailand, where he worked as an engineer helping build critical infrastructure. More than six decades later, he was at risk of becoming homeless.

This past September, Richard moved into Delta House. He does not drive, so Warrior Homes of Collier called on two community partners: Bikes for Tykes brought him a bicycle, and Blue Star Mothers added a helmet and a lock.

That is Veteran Support Services at work. Getting a veteran into a home is the first step. Keeping him there is the work that follows.

WHEN A VETERAN CALLS, SPEED MATTERS

Veteran Support Services, or VSS, is the Warrior Homes program that surrounds housing with wrap-around care, and it starts with rapid response. As a nimble nonprofit rather than a government agency, Warrior Homes can act quickly when a veteran is in crisis. It has built a reputation among veterans with nowhere left to turn: call Warrior Homes, and help comes fast. For some, it keeps them from sleeping in their car or in a tent.

In the past 18 months, the VSS team has opened 150 case files, roughly eight new veterans every month, and on average it logs more than 10,000 touchpoints with veterans each year.

IT STARTS WITH A NEED, AN ASK, AND A PLAN

“A veteran will call us because he needs gas money,” says Lisa Loren, who leads Warrior Homes’ Veteran Support Services team. “Then we sit down, we listen, and we learn he is living in that car, so we realize he needs more than gas money. Our job is to hear their whole story and find every challenge, not just the one in front of them. Understanding the entire picture is the only way to build a plan to get them housed and one that keeps them housed.”

HELP THAT FILLS THE GAPS

Part of that plan is a hard look at housing costs. “We look at rent reasonableness,” Loren explains. “Is this veteran paying fair market rent, or more? A senior on a fixed income who overpays every month is one unexpected bill away from losing his home. If we catch it early, we can solve it.”

VSS can help with rental assistance and/or coordinate with numerous agencies for stable housing. For a veteran who has lost a home, rapid rehousing covers the costs that keep people from starting over: first and last month’s rent, the security deposit, and utilities. For a veteran like Richard, homelessness prevention steps in before an eviction notice becomes a night on the street.

VSS also catches what other veteran programs miss. When a veteran faces eviction but does not qualify for grants or veteran housing programs, Warrior Homes can find workable solutions, including using private donations to pay rent directly to the landlord. No local veteran should fall through the cracks.

Every dollar of direct assistance goes to a vendor or provider, never to the veteran in cash. A veteran who needs fuel receives a gas card. A car repair is paid directly to the shop. Donors know exactly what their gift paid for.

NOT A HOUSE, A HOME

Warrior Homes residents live in shared housing, with rent based on income. Seniors on fixed incomes receive subsidized rent with rent not exceeding 30% of their gross income. Veterans working full time pay their full rent, which is still below market and includes utilities. Warrior Homes covers the maintenance, keeps the utilities on, and helps keep the pantry stocked. Venture Cares, the outreach ministry of Venture Church Naples, brings its Mobile Market, a grocery store on wheels, to veterans living in one of the Warrior Homes, at no cost to residents.

A 34-YEAR-OLD AND A 70-YEAR-OLD ARE NOT THE SAME VETERAN

Since Alpha House opened in 2020, Warrior Homes has provided stable housing for 158 veterans, including 23 families and 43 children. Five percent of those veterans are women, and 47% are seniors.

For younger veterans, support means rebuilding a working life: job training and placement, higher education and scholarships, financial planning, substance use recovery, and housing for families. For seniors, it means living on a fixed income: senior healthcare, quality-of-life care, and, when the time comes, a dignified burial with the honors they earned. At every age, residents have access to food assistance, transportation, healthcare, mental health and PTSD care, and help with VA benefits, provided directly by Warrior Homes or by trusted partners such as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and David Lawrence Centers.

Healthcare includes dental care. Warrior Homes has paid for dental work, including dentures, for veterans in its care. Donor gifts or dental partners who want to honor those who served fund that work.

Together with 18 community organizations, Warrior Homes has helped drive an 88% reduction in veteran homelessness in Collier County.

WHAT COMES NEXT

Loren sees a growing number of veterans across Collier County and Florida, and a growing number of seniors struggling to find affordable housing. Warrior Homes is expanding VSS to meet the growing needs of local veterans.

When Warriors Village opens in South Naples, the Pegasus Landing Pad will bring case managers, wellness checks, and classes in budgeting, cooking, and self-care to the campus where up to 40 veterans live.

Our work is not finished. Every week, another veteran calls about gas money, a utility bill, or a rent notice, and every call deserves someone ready to listen and help.

HOW NAPLES CAN HELP

Warrior Homes and Veteran Support Services runs on the generosity of Naples community members, and 95 cents of every dollar raised goes directly toward serving veterans. Readers can donate, volunteer, or connect Warrior Homes of Collier with a veteran who needs help at wwcollier.org.

They served our country. Now we can serve them.

Saving Lives One Veteran at a Time.

Warrior Homes of Collier is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the state. EIN 46-4973419.