KINGMAN, Ariz. – It had been a vision for years and it was finally a dream coming true. The Jerry Ambrose Veterans Center (JAVC) broke ground Thursday, Nov. 5 on Sunshine Dr. for 72 new homes for veterans.
Several from the city, county and state was there in support of the veterans. JAVC Executive Director Lonnie Wills said 1,500 invitations went out. Only about 75 showed up in support of this long-time dream.
“We’ve waited 15 years for this,” former JAC Executive Director Pat Ferrell said, who wouldn’t have missed this ceremony for anything.
Kingman Vice Mayor Cherish Sammeli helped break ground and spoke during the ceremony; Kingman Mayor Watkins was out of town.
“We have to support our veterans,” Sammeli said. “It’s something that truly matters to our community. This is hope and stability for our veterans.”
Kingman Chamber of Commerce CWO Becky Fawson, who also broke ground, said, “I echo everything that Cherish said. It’s an honor how this community comes together in making it happen.”
Western Arizona Council of Governments (WACOG) Development Director Thomas Ryan helped break ground. He submitted a $2.5 million request for funding for the project through the Kingman Veterans Supportive Housing Expansion bill included in the Transportation and Housing Urban Development (THUD) budget and advanced by Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, earlier this year.
He is also in charge of developing the community for veterans.
“Lonnie came to me with a vision. During the first phase, we will build 32 to 34 homes which should be finished by early spring. I’m excited to meet the needs for our veterans,” Ryan said.
Wills said one of JAVC’s many missions was to provide housing for veterans. “This is a special day. It’s been a journey,” Wills said.
He told the audience he had recently been diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease that eats away the lining of your nervous system, causing numbness. He’s been taking treatments for that and said he feels much better. “Maybe that’s a sign I need to slow down, but there are so many veterans that need help. There isn’t a moment in the day that we wouldn’t pick up the phone for a veteran, 11 at night, one in the morning. We want to build a community that says ‘you’re not forgotten; you’re not alone and your story isn’t over yet.'”
He said there are already 50 veterans on the list, waiting for housing.
“We have purchased the land, broken ground, developed a mission for what Liberty Commons can be, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us. We have infrastructure to build, utilities to bring in, homes to construct and funds to secure and I can’t do it alone,” Wills said. “Our board can’t do it alone. JAVC can’t do it alone. We need this community.”
He issued a challenge to the community and everyone at the ceremony.
“When we leave here today, don’t just remember that you attended the groundbreaking ceremony of Liberty Commons, ask yourself what part can you play in helping us finish this.
He said some could help financially, provide supplies or services, know someone to help navigate the next phase of development, or just introduce him to someone who believes, as JAVC does, that veterans deserve a safe and dignified place to call home.
“Whatever it is, I ask you to get involved. The veterans who will live here aren’t asking us for something extravagant. They’re asking for an opportunity for stability, an opportunity for dignity, an opportunity to wake up tomorrow knowing they have a place where they belong. I believe that’s something worth fighting for,” Wills said.
Community’s help needed to complete Liberty Commons
Liberty Commons, when completed, will be a new housing community of 72 to 74 beautiful tiny homes for veterans on Sunshine Dr. Groundbreaking took place Thursday, Nov. 5. The developer is Thomas Ryan, Western Arizona Council of Governments (WACOG).
Phase 1 will construct 32 to 34 homes, 500 square feet each, and is expected to be completed by early spring, but much help is needed, according to the Jerry Ambrose Veterans Council (JAVC) Executive Director Lonnie Wills.
“Pat and Casey were the lead of JAVC for 15 years,” Wills said. “They started building tiny homes several years ago. We realized that if we can do that in scale, we could do something that’s really significant.”
JAVC is in the process of raising $250,000 for Liberty Commons and the veterans.
“There are veterans who don’t know where they’re going to live tomorrow,” Wills said.
Wills said one way the community can help is to donate the following items to furnish the tiny homes, allowing veterans to move right in and be settled: refrigerators, toasters, microwaves, washers and dryers, furniture, such as recliners, sofas, TVs, dining room tables and chairs, beds and bedding, dressers, chest of drawers, end tables, night stands, coffee tables, dishes, pots and pans, coffee makers, towels, wash cloths, shower curtains, anything for a home.
JAVC needs these donations, in mass, for up to 34 homes by early spring and up to 72 to 74 when the project is completed. Most of all, Wills is hoping someone in the community will donate all the glass and windows needed for the homes. Every item donated will help keep the cost down.
“I’m asking each of you to make a commitment to help us finish what we started,” Wills said.
JAVC has a $50 Safeway gift card for any veteran in Mohave County. To be able to offer these gift cards, JAVC received a $7,000 grant strictly for $50 gift cards. They still have about 90 cards left to give away, Wills said. If you’re a veteran and can be validated, stop in the JAVC office, 315 E. Oak St., and pick one up.
For more information on the tiny homes, gift cards, or to make donations, contact JAVC at 928-880-5091.
