DUBLIN, Ga. -- The Carl Vinson VA Medical Center(VAMC) will renovate two buildings on their campus to help house Veterans.

The VAMC announced that Freedom's Path at Dublin has been awarded a 10-year, $625,000 per year Housing Tax Credit by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

The grant money will be used to renovate two existing buildings on the center's main campus.

The two buildings will be used to generate 44 (22 studio and 22 one-bedroom) units with a leasing preference being provided to Veterans who are homeless, near homeless, or disabled and who meet the income guidelines of the program.

The second component is a new construction building containing an additional 6 (two-bedroom) units. The two-bedroom units are being developed to serve small households, which may include female Veterans or two parent households with a child. With more women in the military, this has become an emerging issue in terms of housing Veterans with income or disability issues.

Freedom’s Path at Dublin, an Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is located on Carl Vinson VAMC’s campus and will increase the supply of affordable housing for our military Veterans. This Veteran-centric, permanent-supportive housing community will bring jobs and nearly $10,000,000 of economic investment to the City of Dublin and Laurens County.

“Freedom’s Path at Dublin is consistent with the mission of our healing campus. As Veterans come to our medical center for residential rehabilitation programs, we will have options for low-cost, permanent housing solutions so Veterans can continue to get their care on our campus. We could not have been successful without numerous organizations and the entire Freedom’s Path at Dublin development team,” said David L. Whitmer, Medical Center Director. “We are excited to repurpose two historical buildings on our campus to provide a supporting environment and help alleviate Veteran homelessness.”

The project was jointly developed by Veterans Affairs, Solutions for Veterans, Garrison for Veterans and the Dublin Housing Authority.

The project also had significant support from the staff from Dublin VAMC, Mayor Phil Best and the City of Dublin, Dublin Housing Authority, State Senator Larry Walker, State Representative Matt Hatchett, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, the Georgia Historic Preservation Division and the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Asset Enterprise Management (OAEM).

Dublin Mayor Phil Best said, “I am very excited to see this much-needed project come to our local VA Hospital! The city has and will support our VA 100 percent and assist in any way we can to make it a success.”

Craig Taylor, President of Solutions for Veterans said there are still more than 600 homeless Veterans in Georgia. “We thank the leadership at the Carl Vinson VAMC, the City of Dublin, and Georgia DCA for its support of this effort,” he said. “To solve Veteran homelessness, we need the full support of the public and private sectors. This is a great example of what can be done to serve those who served us so well.”

For more information on the organizations responsible for making this a reality, visit www.freedomspathdublinga.com, www.garrisonforveterans.com, www.sfveterans.org and www.dublinhousingauthority.net.