How Veterans Haven Came To Be

An Historical Perspective

How "Veteran's Haven" Came To Be 

In the summer of 1994, Vince Berna started Veteran's Haven out of the spare bedroom in his two bedroom apartment. With the help of family members and his friends, the scope of operations grew outside the restricted space provided by that spare bedroom. Setting up operations at Tinkham Center in Westland, Vince and his staff of volunteers were able to offer more services to more veterans in need.

               
            

In 2000, Veteran's Haven opened its Outreach Center at 4924 S. Wayne Rd, with donations and grants from companies like Ford and UPS. Veteran's Haven was able to expand its services even further. Volunteers from both Ford and UPS helped build a warehouse to house all the food, clothing and medical supplies Veteran's Haven offered to those in need.

In 2001, Veteran's Haven opened its first Transitional Housing unit by purchasing and renovating an old farm house in Wayne. Now, homeless Veterans had a safe, clean environment outside of Detroit to stay in while they worked to get their lives back on track. The house offered communcal living with all the comforts of home, including kitchen facilities where the clients prepared and cooked their own meals.

In 2004, Veteran's Haven opened Phase II of its Transitional Housing Program. This is a four unit housing complex in Westland where clients live in their own apartment with all the amenities, including their own washers and dryers.

It is Veteran's Haven's hope to someday offer PERMANENT low income apartments to veterans. "Veteran's Village" has been in the planning stages for some time now, but the red tape involved has not lessened. We will continue to look for ways to make this dream a reality, while still providing for today's needs.

Special Thanks: To Mark Hardy of Veteran's Haven for providing this valued information. Check out their website at vetshaveninfo.org