Grant will help fund development of Carrfour’s Liberty Village housing community, which is currently under construction in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood.
Upon completion in late 2017, the 60-unit project will provide permanent housing and supportive services for hundreds of formerly-homeless veterans and their families.
MIAMI, FL – July 19, 2017 – Carrfour Supportive Housing, Florida’s largest not-for-profit affordable housing developer, is bringing much-needed housing for hundreds of struggling veterans in Miami-Dade County thanks to support from a new $400,000 grant from The Home Depot Foundation’s (THDF) Veteran Housing Grants Program. Funds from the grant are being used to help fund construction of Liberty Village, the organization’s latest housing community in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood, where 80% of the development’s units will be designated for homeless veterans suffering from disabilities. Construction of Liberty Village is currently underway and is expected to be completed in late 2017.
“We’re extremely appreciative of The Home Depot Foundation’s continued efforts to make a life-changing impact in the lives of thousands of South Florida veteran families,” said Stephanie Berman, President and CEO of Carrfour Supportive Housing. “These new dollars will provide Carrfour with the necessary resources to help veterans in our community who suffer from homelessness and put them on the path towards stability.”
Liberty Village will consist of 60 apartments ranging from studios to two-bedroom units. In collaboration with Miami-Dade County’s Homeless Trust, forty-eight apartments will be specially allocated for formerly homeless veterans and their families, as well as those suffering from disabilities, with the building’s remaining units providing low-income housing for individuals earning at or below 60% of the area’s median income.
Liberty Village is the second veteran-focused Carrfour development to receive funding from The Home Depot Foundation. In 2012, the organization awarded $350,000 to Carrfour’s Harding Village development, an affordable housing community in North Miami Beach, which serves formerly homeless and low-income residents including veterans with special needs.
“Many of our veterans and their families face housing challenges, and issues like unemployment, age and service-related disabilities can make those challenges more complicated,” said Erica Headlee, Veteran Housing Grant Manager for The Home Depot Foundation. “We’re honored to partner with organizations like this one to create solutions for veterans.”
Liberty Village residents will receive access to a full array of on-site supportive services geared towards residential stability, resource maximization and self-sufficiency. Comprehensive services provide outreach, case management, and resiliency services, and will also assist participants to obtain VA benefits and other public benefits including health care, employment training and recovery support.
Residents will also have access to amenities including a computer lab, library, covered bicycle racks, on-site washer and dryer facilities, and a vertical community garden which will support Carrfour’s therapeutic and skill-building services. Additionally, Liberty Village will be 100% ADA compliant and completely wheelchair accessible in order to ensure the day-to-day quality of life of its residents with disabilities.
Carrfour has a 20-year history developing and operating supportive housing in Miami-Dade County for the community’s most vulnerable populations, including veterans with special needs and the chronically homeless. Over the last two decades, Carrfour has successfully assembled hundreds of millions of dollars in financing, tax credits and subsidies to develop and manage more than 2,000 units of affordable/supportive housing across South Florida. The organization currently has another 200 units in development and set to deliver over the next few years.
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