A new permanent housing complex for veterans and individuals from vulnerable communities has opened in Philadelphia.

On Monday, May 1, The VBC Giving Foundation, the charitable arm of Volumetric Building Companies, officially launched its Veterans Village in Philadelphia’s Frankford neighborhood.

The new $6 million, 47-unit permanent housing community will serve as a template for future modular housing projects for those in need of affordable housing across the city. 

It was a journey that started in the area nearly 10 years ago.

“VBC used this lot as a staging lot for materials, and we knew that this lot had [the] potential to serve a neighborhood that desperately needed housing,” said Vaughan Buckley, CEO of Volumetric Building Companies. 

Now it will do just that.

Veterans Village is a concept spearheaded by Dana Spain, the President of the VBC Giving Foundation. 

During a previous interview with AL DÍA, she described the village concept as “putting people together who are struggling with the same issues gives a foundation for success.” 

The new housing community was built and came to fruition in partnership with donors that share the same commitment to provide solutions to help address affordable housing for the underserved. 

“It’s such an impressive undertaking and such an important thing to build housing for veterans upon whose work and sacrifices the foundation is what we stand on,” said Mark Rayfield, CEO of Saint-Gobain North America, one of the major donors.

The VBC Giving Foundation is led by Ssgt. John P. Jones, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, as its executive director.

The new housing community has a special, personal meaning to him. 

“It means the world because I can house my brothers and sisters across the nation,” he said. 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that there are roughly 40,056 veterans who are homeless on any given night. Of those 40,000-plus, more 4,300 are women, and about 70% of those women veterans are also single mothers. 

Regarding these statistics, Jones added, “It is our duty as civilians of America to give back as much as we possibly can to our veterans.”

Beyond veterans, the VBC Giving Foundation and Veterans Village seeks to serve other communities of people who need housing.

This includes abuse survivors, refugees, those who have aged out of foster care, and other underserved populations. 

“Our mission is to ease the housing burden,” said Jones, adding that Chicago and Denver are the next two cities to see a new affordable housing community unveiled.