The Lake Minnetonka Chapter secured a $40,000 grant from the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) toward the construction of a townhome to provide permanent housing for women veterans experiencing homelessness.
Minnetonka resident Judy Taves was a member of the team who contributed to the research and preparation of the grant application. “I was absolutely overjoyed when the grant was awarded!” says Taves. “Learning about the experiences which have led to homelessness among women veterans was eye opening and heartbreaking.”
The townhome is part of the Veterans Village housing project in Eagan, Minnesota. The Village will be owned and operated by Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV) whose mission is to end veteran homelessness in Minnesota. Four of the twenty-seven units on the project’s 6.7-acre site will be dedicated to women veterans.
The $40,000 check was presented to the team in May at the annual Minnesota State Society DAR Conference led by State Regent, Carolyn Loeffler. The grant was made possible by the National Society DAR’s “Vivian Luther Schafer Fund for Indigent and Homeless Women”.
The team was invited to take part in the groundbreaking ceremony on June 18. Construction labor for the townhome will be donated by Lennar Homes and the expected completion date is December 2025.
According to MACV, 80 of 81 Minnesota counties have successfully eliminated homelessness among veterans. MACV also reports that seventeen percent of veterans experiencing homelessness are women who are four times more likely to experience homelessness than their male counterparts.
The Lake Minnetonka Chapter DAR has a proud history of supporting United States veterans. The organization awards Quilts of Valor to veterans touched by war, records veterans’ stories as part of the Library of Congress Veterans History Project, and restores the headstones of fallen veterans in local cemeteries.
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