The Jerry Abrose Veterans Council (JAVC) was formed in July 2010 by two former Marines, Jerry Abrose and Gene Crego. Jerry Ambrose wanted to bring the various veteran organizations together to coordinate their efforts in helping veterans in need and promoting veterans’ issues.
When it was originally formed, it was called the Kingman Veterans Council, and the first meeting was held at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10386 in Kingman. The first meeting was attended by approximately 35 veterans from around Mohave County. As the goal of the council was to bring the various organizations together, the name was changed to the Mohave County Veterans Council, and upon the death of one of their founders, it then became known as the Jerry Ambrose Veterans Council.
When they began interacting with military veterans and immediate families, they realized there were a lot of gaps in services and resources. There was also a lack of knowledge that these resources were even available.
The three most critical issues in Mohave County are homelessness, suicide and substance abuse.
So, they set to work to make an impact by creating a center to offer resources and services. They located a 22,000-square-foot facility in Kingman that was formerly the Mohave County Administrative and was available for sale. It had been unused for more than 10 years due to hazardous material. The county had placed it up for auction twice with no interested parties, so they made an offer to the county, and it was accepted.
They managed to obtain a Brownsfield grant for $157,000, and after the abatement, they took ownership in 2018. They worked with an architect to repurpose the facility into 25 rooms for the homeless and 11 rooms for wraparound services. They had invested more than $800,000 into the renovation when COVID-19 hit, and work stopped. After the brunt of the pandemic was over, the CARES ACT grants became available, and Governor Ducey awarded them $2,000,000 through the City of Kingman. At the time, it was enough to complete the dream.
Then inflation struck and they found themselves in need of $800,000 to complete the project. Working with the low bidder and through the efforts of volunteers and local donors they whittled that down to $454,500. The reconstruction was split into two phases and phase 1 was certified for occupancy. Due to heavy rain, they incurred damage to the roof and damage to most of the interior. The original bid to repair the roof was $46,200 and they received ARPA funding from Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson. After starting repairs, much heavier damage was uncovered, so they need $650,000 to finish the repairs.
They are hoping individual donors can help support their cause. They are asking for donors to use the qualified charitable organization credit donation process to help. Through this program a single person can donate $470, while a married couple can give $938. You can support them online at javc.org/Arizona-state-tax-donation/.
Paula Pedene
Guest columnist
