Former motel transforming into place for homeless veterans

Army veteran Tommy Barron Jr. understands how rough it can be to find the right home.

Since May, Barron has lived in Home Port Veterans Transition Home after having some issues at an apartment complex he was living in before. The housing program is a local initiative that includes transforming a former motel into a place where homeless veterans can live until they find a new home.

Barron is one of 11 veterans now living at Home Port, located on Harrison Road just off Eisenhower Parkway.

“Being in between (places), it’s definitely been a help,” said Barron, who served in the Army and Army National Guard from 1981-2004. “The main thing, I was having problems where I was and wanted to be able to keep my dogs with me. Veterans homelessness is a problem. When you get a place, you have to work with it, too.”

The transitional housing program was formed as part of a “veterans first certified company” called the American Aviation Group. The partners include George Brown, former aviation director for the city of Macon and a retired major with the Marine Corps; Venkat Sanjeev, CEO of Goldstone Hospitality, the hotel and motel division of American Aviation Group; and John Davis.

But as veterans have moved in, the program still faces financial struggles. Much of money invested so far has come from the partners that make up American Aviation Group, which aims to turn the property into 70 units for single veterans and 10 units for veterans and their families. Plans for the final phase call for a training and counseling center for residents.

The program’s largest donation has been a $5,000 check from Grainger Industrial Supply. Some other help comes from care packages with food, and a restaurant brings meals for residents. There is no cooking area in the facility, so veterans use small refrigerators and microwaves located in each room to store and warm up food.

Major work is left in order to renovate the rest of facility. American Aviation is seeking federal grants to help cover some of the program costs as well as support from Macon-Bibb County, said Mac McAfee, a veteran and on-site manager of the property.

“That’s really the only money we’ve received from outside help,” McAfee said of the Grainger donation. “We’re trying to get it organized so vets feel comfortable. We’re having to do pavement (work), stucco work, but right now we’re focused on putting a roof over their heads.”

A large group of veterans, American Legion Riders Post 172, has been providing support as well. The Warner Robins post will be back Saturday to help clean rooms, paint and provide fellowship with the veterans living there.

“They’ve been a blessing to us,” McAfee said.

Journey to Home Port

The journey to the transitional housing program has been a long and winding one for Ronald Swint.

Before recently moving into the transitional housing, Swint lived at a car wash where he also worked. The former Navy serviceman has bounced around, living in different places over the years, including a stint at a Salvation Army homeless shelter.

The 63-year-old uses money from his Social Security check to pay for rent at Home Port, which comes out to a little less than $500 a month for him. Swint says he’s on the Macon Housing Authority’s waiting list to find a place to call his own.

“That wasn’t the place for me to be as far as being comfortable inside the car wash,” he said.

For Barron, two financial hits, compounded with a disability, have hampered him. He said he’s been fighting with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs since the early 1990s to receive his full disability pension.

Barron was once stationed in Alabama — Fort McClellan and Redstone Arsenal — where he says he and others may have been exposed to chemical toxins.

Fort McClellan was shut down in 1999 and is categorized by the Department of Veterans Affairs as place where people were potentially exposed to radioactive compounds or chemical agents.

Barron hopes he’ll be able to soon move into the former A.L. Miller High School property that’s being renovated into low-income apartments.

“The main thing keeping me down now is my VA claim,” Barron said.

Transformation underway

The former Villager Lodge motel was a popular place for vices, including prostitution and drugs, authorities say, so cleaning up the area was one of the first priorities of the housing program.

“We’ve tried to eliminate an area that’s been a blight and sore for the city,” Brown said.

Sheriff David Davis says the property has been turning the corner since being redeveloped.

“The Sheriff’s Office has been out there a few times this year, but it’s been for minor things, assistance calls, nothing disorderly,” Davis said. “Our drug unit, gang unit hasn’t been out there any this year.”

Inside the rooms, renovations have included putting in new carpet, furniture and HVAC units. The rooms should be a place that the veterans feel safe and proud to live in while they get back on their feet, Brown said.

The homeless problem facing veterans at this place is similar to what many of them across the nation deal with.

“We have 1.4 million homeless veterans on the streets,” Brown said. “These are people who have served us. We’re the richest country in the world. That is a shame.”

This story was originally published August 12, 2016 at 6:57 PM with the headline "Former motel transforming into place for homeless veterans."