Detroit Veterans Village will house 85 vets in metro Detroit

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - When Edward Williams came home from war, he described the returning veterans from Vietnam as "the forgotten people."

And had the country established the kind of support services he was bearing witness to on Tuesday, "it would have maybe saved some people's lives."

"Some of them have turned out homeless and I wanted to see what it was going to look like - I was truly impressed," said Williams.

He's referring to the new Detroit Veterans Village, which will one day open thanks to the nonprofit Tunnels to Towers after it purchased the former Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Southfield. It will one day be renovated to provide housing assistance and support for 85 veterans in metro Detroit. 

The help is sorely needed after a report in January of 2023 found 35,000 veterans nationwide were experiencing homelessness. This program offers quality housing to push back on that alarming figure.

According to Jay Feldman of Feldman Automotive, Tunnels to Towers will have helped 10,000 homeless veterans by the end of the year.

"It's absolutely horrible to see people who have served our country and not have a decent place to live or have emotional or physical help," he said Tuesday.

According to Gavin Naples, the vice president of the nonprofit, millions of dollars will be spent improving the facility to offer an array of services, including case management, behavioral health, support for entitlements and employment, as well as legal advocacy and other peer support. 

"We are here to take care of those that take care of us," said Jeanna DellaRagione. "That is our promise at Tunnel to Towers Foundation. That no veteran and no first responder is ever left behind."

For more information, head to t2t.org/