INDIANAPOLIS — A former mobile home park on the west side of Indianapolis is sprouting with new houses for homeless veterans. It's all coming together thanks to students from Decatur Central High School.
Trade school students spent the week building several homes at the Project 57 development near Michigan Street and Holt Road. They bolted the wood frame walls of the houses into place and also secured roof trusses.
"I've been preaching to them all along, we're doing this for homeless veterans, someone other than ourselves," said Kenny Owens, who is the lead teacher for Decatur Central's construction program. "I tell them all the time, if you can work hard in this industry, you're going to go places."
Anthony Roberts developed the plot and plan for Project 57 through his organization Steadfast For Veterans. He said he is grateful the teenagers used their skills for good.
"I think people have lost hope in the idea of caring and giving for other people," Roberts said. "It's really impressive to see high school kids giving to the level they're willing to give."
He said the students are well on their way to success in construction, if they choose to pursue it after high school.
"There were some kids from the same trades program that over their fall break wanted some stuff to do, and they actually rebuilt one of these houses that a contractor had not built correctly," Roberts said.
The first Project 57 homes could open by the end of the year, and Roberts believes they are on-track to finish them all by next spring. He says the helpers from Decatur Central have already realized the impact their skills could have with homeless veterans.
"They have all had a different attitude when they left at the end of the day versus when they came in the morning," Roberts said. "I know they've been touched, but they don't know how they have been touched."
