Bronx enlists two veterans residences

Bronx enlists two veterans residences|Bronx enlists two veterans residences
Photo courtesy of Jericho Project|Photo courtesy of Jericho Project

For more than three decades, one non-profit organization has made its primary objective to build better lives for veterans returning from combat.

The Jericho Project Veterans Initiative provides secure housing and comprehensive services to New York City veterans through its seven residences in Harlem and the Bronx and its additional network of supportive apartments.

Jericho’s trademark is comprehensive counseling which enables residents to gain employment, maintain their sobriety, and reunite with families.

The non-profit has two such residences located in our borough. They are known as Fordham Village and Kingsbridge Terrace.

Located at 355 E. 194th Street, Fordham Village opened in 2011 and features 56 studio units.

In 2012, Jericho completed Kingsbridge Terrace, the second of its LEED-certified veterans residences in the borough serving 165 former service men and women from all eras of combat.

Both aid in establishing a sense of community through exquisitely designed and furnished studio apartments, community and computer rooms, gyms and gardens.

These locations provide veterans access to specific counseling, education and employment as well as reuniting them with their relatives. Jericho’s housing and extended services cost $12,000 per person annually.

According to Tori Lyon, Jericho Project executive director and its Veterans Initiative 2006 architect, another Bronx veterans and young adults residence is planned for 2065 Walton Avenue and construction will begin this spring. She added Jericho has been working closely with the Walton Avenue community and believes the new 90-unit residence will benefit the area.

Last year, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation presented Jericho Project with the Bank of America Neighborhood Builders Award which provides $200,000 in flexible funding supporting leadership training for high performing non-profits and their executives.

“New York City has made strong inroads reducing veteran homelessness over the past year,” Jeff Barker, NYC Bank of America president said. “With this funding and leadership training, Jericho Project is poised to make an even greater impact in its efforts to combat homelessness among veterans by assisting those at-risk before they lose their homes.”

Through expert program specialists and case managers’ support, 95% of Jericho Project residents sustain housing stability and 90% with substance abuse disorders have remained sober compared to 40 to 60% nationally.

“The earlier that we can reach at-risk veterans with the stability of housing and the tools to secure employment, the more promising their future will be,” Lyon explained. “We are grateful to Bank of America for their invaluable leadership training and financial support. Together, we can end homelessness at its roots.”

For 32 years, this nationally acclaimed organization has sought to end homelessness by establishing a goal-centric community motivating people to achieve their greatest potential.

Since then, Jericho Project has aided thousands of homeless and at-risk New Yorkers and today assists 1,600 adults and families including 550 veterans.

Jericho’s Veterans Supportive Apartment program, in partnership with James J. Peters VA Medical Center, supplies housing placement and extensive care management services for veterans and their families in all five boroughs.

Kingsbridge Terrace, Jericho Project’s second veterans residence.
Photo courtesy of Jericho Project