Veterans Community Project

This Fourth of July weekend, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Jimmie will be celebrating his independence. One year ago, he was couch-surfing and among the more than 30,000 Veterans experiencing homelessness. This year, thanks to your support, he is moving into his own apartment.

Over the past 11 months, Jimmie has put in the work to rebuild while living in the rent-free tiny home your generosity provided at Veterans Community Project. Alongside his on-site case manager, he has repaired his credit, reestablished his savings, and focused on his physical health.

And if the items in his packing boxes are any indication, he also made time for some fun along the way. In the Village, he liked to play strategy games like chess, dominoes, and Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots (which yes, he insists, does take a bit of strategy).

“Don’t let this T-shirt fool you: I’m still just a kid at heart,” he grins.

Together, that mix of work and play prepared Jimmie to join the hundreds of Veterans who have found lasting stability through VCP Villages. As he gets ready to move into a nearby apartment complex for Veterans, the former radio field operator leaves you with a loud-and-clear message about what you made possible.

“Of all the things that being a Veteran has brought to my life, this tiny home might be the very best,” he says. “It gave me peace of mind and time to get myself together.”

Happy Independence Day, Jimmie.

Ten years ago, a group of combat Veterans transformed a dilapidated auto parts store into what would become the national headquarters of Veterans Community Project.

Over the decade since, the cobalt blue building in Kansas City has been at the heart of our mission to fix Veteran homelessness. First, it was the front door for Veterans seeking help. Then, the backdrop for national conversations as policymakers visited to study our model. Recently, the forward operating base for scaling our 85% success rate to seven cities across the United States.

But along the way, the building itself has stayed remarkably unchanged. Rain falls into a roaming utility tub. Makeshift shared office spaces turn phone calls into conference calls. Simply put, a building once caked in brake dust and still equipped with an oil change bay has not kept pace with the work happening inside it as VCP has grown nationally.

And lately, its limitations have become a barrier to our capacity to serve more Veterans. VCP Co-Founder and CEO Bryan Meyer puts it bluntly: “The bottom line is this: Without expanding this building, we would be done expanding this mission nationwide.”

So, this past week, he and fellow VCP Co-Founders Brandonn Mixon and Vincent Morales led the team in an interior demolition day to pave the way for a renovation in the coming months. Bryan spent his birthday bringing order to the chaos. Brandonn worked alongside his son, Ashtonn. Vinnie applied his Sapper training to organizing the dumpster.

In the end, they found themselves in a familiar situation: A group of Veterans standing together in a dusty, mostly empty building at 8900 Troost Ave and looking toward the future. Only this time, they were not trying to figure out how to build the first tiny home. They were making room to build the next ones.

“This is not a vanity project,” Bryan explained. “This place exists to serve Veterans, and that is never going to change. What will change, however, is our capacity to serve more of them.”

That, of course, is what this renovation is all about—not a mission changed, but a mission grown. And, once again, building the infrastructure required to fix Veteran homelessness.

Because of you, U.S. Air Force Veteran Maureen has a safe place to heal this summer.

At this time last year, she was piecing together hotel stays to keep a roof over her head in the summer heat—finances dwindling, debt climbing, and stability slipping away.

But now, thanks to your generosity, Maureen is instead on the front porch of her tiny home, surrounded by pink flowers she planted and part of a community that cares about her.

Since moving into VCP Village, that daily stability has led to meaningful progress as she has worked to unwind the aftereffects of homelessness. She has paid down debt, repaired her credit score, and recently purchased a car in her own name for the first time.

And most importantly, Maureen says, she also finally had the opportunity to face her past trauma head-on. Recently, she participated in an intensive VA-affiliated therapy program, returning home with clarity and the tools to rebuild important relationships in her life.

Today, her healing journey continues. But in this moment, Maureen feels a renewed sense of pride in her service, which spanned four years and included a deployment in support of Operation Desert Fox. She also has a message for those navigating similar challenges:

“Trauma does not discriminate—and it does not get to define your identity as a Veteran.”

Thank you, Maureen, for sharing your story of transformation.

And thank you to each of you who helped make it possible.

A few weeks ago, Veterans Community Project Operations Associate Dave left The Home Depot with products he didn’t pay for. “They hollered at me as I was walking out,” he laughs.

Here’s what happened: This Home Depot store happened to have a surplus of American flags. And its employee Gabe saw Dave wearing his VCP shirt in the vestibule. Having long supported our mission personally and through the store, Gabe asked if we would have a need for the flags.

Absolutely, Dave responded. You may not know this, but our Veteran residents can take all of the brand-new furnishings of their tiny home when they transition out of VCP Villages and into permanent housing—including the American flag that flies on their front porch during their stay.

Presenting the flag on move-out day is always a powerful and emotional moment. Replacing it, however, is also a very real cost when you’re serving hundreds of Veterans each year.

So, today on Flag Day, we’re grateful for our orange-vested friends who’ve been with us since our early days in Kansas City and now stand by our Veterans across the United States. And on a tour of our Village with Store Manager Rana, Dave, and VCP Co-Founder Brandonn, Gabe explained why:

“When there is a good cause in our communities, Home Depot doesn’t bat an eye,” he says.

Then adding, “We care a lot about our Veterans here.”