VETERANS VILLAGE OF NORTHEAST FLORIDA

The Veterans Village of Northeast Florida, Inc. (VVNEFL) will be creating & maintaining a tiny house community for our homeless military veterans. This community will have all the resources that our homeless veterans will need to not only live a better life but to integrate back into society and the workforce if they are able to do so. This community will be open to all Active Duty Members, Veterans & their families to use not only the resources but to also enjoy everything this veteran’s community will have to offer. We are seeking 125 acres in Northeast Florida which to begin this venture. 100 acres will be for houses, therapies, and resources. While the other 25 are for sustainable income to continue the mission of the VVNEFL.
The tiny houses will be built in groups of 12. Each group will have a central Care Center with a Full Kitchen, Living Room (6) Shower, (6) Baths, (6) Washrooms, & (6) Laundry Rooms. There will be 2 care houses on each acre. We will be building (12) 160 sq ft tiny houses per group, all compliant with Florida building codes including 4ft metal tie-downs that are set in concrete and then welded to the container house. The tiny houses will be arrayed around each Care Center which will house the restrooms, shower facilities, a community kitchen, laundry room, etc. for each group. All buildings will be using renewable energy such as
natural gas & solar panels & will contain tankless water heaters. We are looking to give our veterans a safe, dry place to call home. Each tiny house will have a bed, couch, fold-a-way table, TV with internet access, A/C unit, heating, & fan as well as a porch & a small yard.
In addition to the areas mentioned above, we want to have a 5-acre fenced area with a separate entrance for military couples built to the same design as above but with more square footage to accommodate two people. We will also be helping the single parents with children by having both a woman veteran with children section & a male veteran with children section that will come together with a play area for the children & families to come together. Additional acreage will be fenced with a separate secured entrance for our emergency women's veterans shelter with only female volunteers working it. Each unit will be the 160 sq ft container house but will have its own community house with a kitchen, restrooms, living room, etc. to ensure our women veterans have a safe place to begin the healing process.
We will also have Barrack Style Houses, Apartment Style & Single-Family Spaces for an affordable house alternative for our Veterans that will income-based.
At the very heart of the Veterans Village, we are looking to build a 2 to 4-acre Town Center offering as many services as we can for our veterans. The Town Center will have a large Cafeteria that will be used for serving meals to the group (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner). In addition, there will be a full kitchen that all veterans can use to cook for themselves & others as well as a food bank that will help to ensure no veteran is food-deprived. The Cafeteria will be built to code to be a hurricane shelter & auditorium. The Town Center will also feature a clothing center to help our veterans get clean & updated clothes as well as a barbershop – all geared towards restoring dignity & pride in a population that is too often deprived of both. We are also talking to a fiber-optic company about getting internet to the Village.
We are working with several colleges in the area to develop an education facility for veterans to attend online classes as well as a skills center to help our veterans learn helpful skills & trades. One of our main goals is to help homeless veterans get back into the workforce who have the ability to do so. We will have a career service center, where community partners & local businesses that are interested in hiring our veterans can come & meet with them & aid in their development. Helping our veterans transition back into civilian life in a productive & sustainable way is a top priority of Veterans Village of Northeast Florida.
We are planning to have a library & will be taking donations to help get it started. We are talking to a local hospital about putting a clinic on the property to service the needs of our veterans as they are welcomed into the community. Many will require immediate & urgent care, & we want to be able to supplement VA care with more acute & immediate care onsite. We are talking to local dentists & eye doctors for their help also.
Veterans Village is not looking to reinvent the wheel so we will be reaching out to other organizations to set up satellite offices on the property to serve our veteran population such as the Veterans Council of Clay County, Veterans Council of St Johns County, Veterans Council of Nassau County, Veterans Council of Baker, Disabled American Veterans, K9 Line, Operation Barnabas, Wounded Warrior Project, K9’s For Warriors, Northeast Florida Women Veterans, American Legions Riders, Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans Court, Veterans of Foreign Wars, North Florida Lawyers, Hope 4 Veterans, Zahara Veterans Network, and any other organizations that are out there to help our veterans
Veterans Village will be partnering with local businesses to provide multiple & varied therapy opportunities within the Village to help with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Military Sexual Trauma (MST) & other complications that arise from service. There will be a meeting room dedicated to Narcotics Anonymous & Alcoholics Anonymous meetings as well as mental health caregivers to help all those who need it. We have an Occupational Therapy provider on board already, & more local healthcare professionals that are very interested in volunteering
their services. We are also looking into Telehealth as a way to get our veterans more services in the privacy of their tiny homes. In addition, we are looking at options such as animal therapy, a forge to do metalwork, a woodworking shop, an auto shop, a music studio & an art studio for paint therapy & sculpting- all of which could turn out to be revenue-generating to aid our veterans. We will also have yoga & other low-impact exercises available as
well as guided meditation.
We will be developing 5 acres as a food and vegetable garden, and bee colony, in which we are speaking to local restaurants to sell veteran-grown vegetables, fruits & honey too. Animal farms for our veterans to work as both therapy & a way to have fresh items to eat and sell to keep the community sustainable.
In addition to the onsite healthcare services, we recognize that our veterans will need to be able to get to the VA & other appointments that are offsite. With that in mind, we are looking for donation vehicles (vans, shuttle buses, etc..) to be utilized by Veterans Village staff & volunteers on behalf of our veterans. We will offer advertising opportunities on the vehicles as a way to help balance out the cost of insurance, upkeep, & fuel. Veterans Village will also be looking for retired veterans and other volunteers that would be willing to act as drivers for these vehicles.
We know that many of our homeless veterans have service dogs & companion animals. Those animals will need care as well so we are inviting local veterinarians to help us with a small vet clinic & a companion shelter for those veterans who would like a cat or dog to help with PTSD and more. We will have a dog park for the veterans to enjoy with their dogs & dog grooming stations to aid the veterans in caring for their dogs.
We are talking to religious leaders about building a chapel & a temple in the facility.
Throughout the property, we will have memorial walls to honor all who served. One of the things we are most proud of will be the Veterans Museum where the veterans will have an opportunity to record their stories for future generations. We are accepting items from the veteran's community to place in the museum
Since there will be no motor vehicles permitted within the Village, we will have golf carts, scooters, and bicycles for our veterans to get around and take part in activities. The property will have an obstacle course like UNF has as well as another 5 acres of undeveloped land that will feature nature trails. In addition, there will be a barbecue picnic area, fire pits, outdoor relaxation areas, and a pond to fish and swim in similar to the one at Flamingo RV Park. We want all Active Duty Military, Veterans & Their Families to come out
& enjoy this Community for Veterans.
We are hoping to have a strong police/security presence, possibly even rehabilitated veterans who would like to be a part of helping to ensure the safety and security of their Village. There will be robust outdoor lighting and security cameras to protect our veterans, and we will have 24-hour case managers to help make sure our veterans have the help they need when they need it most.
We will also be looking into ways to make a sustainable income for the Veterans Village of Northeast Florida so that eventually, this community will be able to support itself.
We will not be charging our homeless veterans to live in or use the resources in this community; however, we will require those who are able to help around the property to do so in some capacity. This community is open to all Military Veterans. We understand that we cannot end homelessness in the veteran community, but we CAN & WILL make an impact. We are hoping to help 1000 homeless military veterans get off the streets and on the road to recovery - starting this year.
Will you help us?
Find us on Facebook & Instagram: @VVNEFL or contact Sharon at (904) 680-4120 or sharon@vvnefl.org

Veterans' Village of Northeast Florida | Maintaining a tiny house community for our homeless military veterans.
VVNEFL.ORG