When Gordy Edington heard about a veteran experiencing homelessness in Rhinelander, he knew he had to do something.
“I’m a 22-year veteran of the military, and I’m fortunate enough that I’m not homeless,” he says. “But I know there are guys out there that need help from my era back in Vietnam.”
So he started a nonprofit organization called Northwoods Homes for Heroes.
It aims to help homeless veterans in northern Wisconsin by building a small village of tiny houses.
The village would be a place where veterans can stay while they gain the tools needed to break the cycle of homelessness.
“Whoever needs the assistance, we’re going to try to get them so they can be more lucrative in the community and not be so reclusive,” Edington explains.
His idea is based on a similar village for veterans that already exists in Racine.
He hopes to build 10 homes, each equipped with a bed, a couch and a coffeemaker.
“They’re not very big,” Edington says. “They’re just for them to have a place so they don’t have to sleep under a bridge somewhere.”
Nationally, more than 40,000 veterans experience homelessness on any given night, according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.
That means about one of every 10 homeless people is a veteran.
Northwoods Homes for Heroes would address this issue locally.
The organization is looking for donations of money, land and time as it looks to begin constructing this village for veterans.
For more information on how to get involved or contribute to this project, contact Gordy Edington at 715-493-5328.
