A Hoosier veteran is making major progress on a community dedicated to housing veterans experiencing homelessness.
WRTV's Nicole Griffin first reported on Steadfast for Veterans Project 57 in April 2023.
Now, veteran Anthony Roberts sees the finish line in sight. He hopes to have 17 veterans moved in by the first of the year.
"I'm seeing the dream come to reality at this point. It's very humbling," Roberts said.
The community is under construction near Michigan Street and Holt Road on the city's southwest side. It sits on the site of a former mobile home park.
"Brand new construction, one bedroom, one bath, 525 square feet. Nothing fancy, but it's more than adequate for somebody," Roberts said.
The name is significant.
In 2019, when Roberts started, he says there were 57 veterans who had vouchers from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development VA Supportive Housing Program but no place to go.
"While this project has been in the four to five year process, they've averaged 30 to 60 veterans that have a voucher at any given point in time and no place to live. So, there's definitely a need," he said.
Getting to this point of seeing his vision and dream become reality hasn't come without challenges.
After getting approval from Indianapolis to start in 2022, funding has been a huge barrier and Roberts says the pandemic slowed his ability to get supplies.
"It's just been a complete nightmare, from not having concrete available for the original plans to having to go to option b and option c. So, it's been, been a pretty long process," he said.
SEE BELOW: A video tour of the homes
In July 2023, WRTV reported on $7,500 worth of tools being stolen from the Project 57 construction site.
Roberts credits Fairway Independent Mortgage, Messiah Lutheran Church in Brownsburg, and Huse Culinary for donations that helped make Project 57 a reality.
To finish the project, he took out a federal loan for low income housing.
"Our hope is by this Veterans Day, we can have more than half of the homes completed and already being lived in while we finish up the other ones going into the winter," Roberts said.
