MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As part of its mission to eradicate veteran homelessness, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting America's first responders, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday for its Veteran Village residential building.
After renovating buildings nationwide, Veterans Village Memphis will be the newest facility to house and provide resources to local service members.
Jesse Kendrick served in the U.S. Navy for 22 years and retired out of Millington. Like many veterans, he's familiar with the difficulty that can come with transitioning back into the community.
"When you lose your family, that's your military family," he said. "You struggle a lot with what you're going to do in the next phase of your life. We sometimes call it 'What do you want to do when you grow up?' So just giving back and helping them is something that every veteran should do."
Kendrick has supported the Tunnel to Towers Foundation for years and is excited that they have now branched out to Memphis. The Foundation is investing tens-of-millions of dollars into building Veterans Village, a completely remodeled residential building with more than 100 rooms that will house new furniture, appliances, and flooring.
"We need the generosity of the American public to allow us to continue our good works and doing this," said Gavin Naples, the Vice President of the Homeless Veteran Program. "But the veterans pay rent; they have skin in the game. It's artificially low rent, obviously. It's never more than 30% of their income, and never more than the affordable housing designation location."
Stakeholders broke ground Thursday morning following a ceremony - adding Memphis to one of the multiple sites Tunnel to Towers has acquired since 2023. Naples said this complex will have an entire floor dedicated to mental health resources, medical care, and much more.
"We actually provide daily funded and private transportation to and from the nearest VA hospital to grocery stores, banks, employment opportunities, and a reasonable radius around the area to where veterans need to go," he said. "We also work with the veterans with financial literacy courses to help them obtain driver's licenses, rebuild their credit, and become financially stable."
In supporting his fellow veterans struggling financially or mentally, Kendrick said he appreciates any organization that can advocate for service members facing a major issue city-wide.
"The biggest thing is that having a home, as opposed to a shelter," he said. "That's what Tunnel to Towers does; it provides a community, provides a home and continuing care so it's not just about the housing. It's about the whole person."
Veterans Village Memphis, formerly an Extended Stay hotel, will be located on Riverdale Bend Drive and is expected to open in late summer of 2025.