NAPLES, Fla. — Collier County is taking action to tackle homelessness among local veterans by approving a deal that will convert two vacant properties into affordable housing units. The decision marks a small but hopeful step to address the area's severe shortage of affordable housing, particularly for veterans.
"Veterans have a lot of problems; they don't really want to speak their issues out loud," said Chief William Carl of the Collier County Veterans Association, emphasizing the often-overlooked struggles veterans face.
Homelessness remains an issue for many veterans across the country, and for struggling veterans in Collier County it is no different.
WATCH TO SEE WHAT THE NEW PROPERTIES LOOK LIKE
"I went out to a Starbucks the other day when people told me that there's no homeless in the Naples area. There was a homeless man that was sitting right outside the window," Chief Carl told Fox 4 News.
The problem came into focus this week as the community celebrated Veterans Day.
On Tuesday, Collier County commissioners unanimously approved a lease agreement with Warrior Homes of Collier to transform two currently vacant single-family homes into six affordable rental units for veterans.
"We've been working with the county for about four or five years on trying to get them to help us house veterans, and this was a major step forward," said Dale Mullin, president of Warrior Homes of Collier.
Mullin explained that while the new units will only be able to accommodate six veterans at a time, its progress nonetheless.
“Every veteran counts, every bed counts. And these beds, with the number we work off of – fixed cost to house a veteran in a bed is about $150,000. So it’s not an easy task to get a bed for a veteran in Collier County," Mullin explained.
The two homes, located on Bay Street in East Naples, are owned by the county. Through this new agreement, the county will lease the properties to Warrior Homes, which will, in turn, sublease each room to veterans at a reduced rate.
"And they will sign a year lease," Mullin said. "Each property will have three veterans, three bedrooms, and they’ll share a common area. It’s called shared housing and it works very effectively," he added.
Warrior Homes expects to move six veterans into the properties by the end of the year and says it will continue pursuing similar measures until all of Collier County’s veterans are housed.
