[Ep 080] Mighty Hero Homes Is Building 84-Home Bases for Homeless Veterans

Between 35,000 and 75,000 American veterans are homeless tonight, and a decade of federal spending has not solved it. 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻, founder of 𝗠𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀, shares his plan with Greg Banks: gated 84-home base communities offering affordable, permanent housing, on-base jobs, and a pathway from homelessness all the way to home ownership. 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 For more conversations with the veterans, military spouses, and service organizations changing lives after the uniform, follow The Military Minute playlist: https://cirriussolutions.com/podcast/... 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 🎯 Point-in-time counts miss veterans who are couch surfing or sleeping in cars, so the real number sits somewhere between 35,000 and 75,000, and programs cannot help the people they cannot count. 🎯 A Mighty Hero Homes base is a community, not a shelter: 84 permanent homes in seven quads, a community center, a greenhouse with Veterans Produce, canine training with Healing for Heroes, and employment on site. 🎯 The H2O program (Homelessness to Home Ownership) gives a veteran with no credit and no down payment a realistic path to owning their home within a couple of years. 🎯 The Build a House, Create a Legacy program challenges companies, churches, and community groups to raise $100,000 over 12 months to build a named home, all driven by the four words on Drew’s bracelet: 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 (𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀) 00:44 Introduction to Mighty Hero Homes 02:28 Drew Walston's Journey to Founding Mighty Hero Homes 06:06 Understanding Veteran Homelessness 09:37 Building the First Mighty Hero Home Base 17:29 The Concept of the Mighty Hero Home Base 21:32 Transforming Communities through Veteran Support 26:48 Building Homes with Purpose 30:18 Designing Mighty Hero Homes 32:36 Pathways to Home Ownership 33:27 Understanding Veteran Homelessness 37:14 Community Support and Local Leadership 40:42 Fundraising for a Cause 43:38 Creating Lasting Impact 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀 & 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 Drew Walston on LinkedIn:   / drewwalston   Mighty Hero Homes: https://mightyherohomes.org/ Healing for Heroes: https://www.healing4heroes.org/ Veterans Produce: https://veteransproduce.org/vphome569... RaLin Construction: https://ralinconstruction.com/ Squared Away Construction: https://squaredawayconst.com/ Orkin Pest Control: https://www.orkin.com/ Related episode - USA Cares: Keeping Veterans Housed, Working, and Hopeful:    • [Ep 046] USA Cares: Keeping Veterans House...   Greg Banks on LinkedIn:   / greg-banks-9785197   Jason Fowler Music: https://www.jasonfowlermusic.com/ Cirrius Solutions: https://cirriussolutions.com/podcast Use this link to find a curated list of resources we promote based on first-hand experience. The Military Minute Episodes: https://cirriussolutions.com/podcast/... For follow-up questions: CirriusTalk@CirriusSolutions.com 𝗚𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻 spent 21 years at Progressive Insurance and 15 years running a product design business whose work included the most widely used heated hypothermia bag of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. He founded Mighty Hero Homes, has led it full time since April 2022, and has closed on the Milledgeville, Georgia property where the first 84-home base will be built.