Prior military service, especially in combat, has been shown to greatly affect the aging process.

While some veterans do well, many others experience a recurrence of PTSD, depression and chronic illnesses from Agent Orange and other wartime exposures. The loss of a spouse, retirement or illness often sends these heroes in a downward spiral and the military culture they know keeps them from asking for help.

Every day at Hero’s Bridge we receive calls from the hospitals, emergency rooms, social services, churches and other organizations asking us to help with an older veteran they have come across. We can assist many of them in their own homes, but some situations are just too severe to help them where they are. They need a village.

A safe, clean home is a basic necessity, essential to a human’s well-being and we have a responsibility to ensure every senior veteran has affordable housing. For our older heroes, trying to sustain big unwieldly houses can be what tips the scales from independence to dependence

Hero’s Bridge Village will be first of its kind tiny home community that will debut in Fauquier County. It will lift our aging veterans out of substandard living conditions, homelessness and social isolation into a home within a gated community.

The Hero’s Bridge Village will radically change the lives of these veterans as well as the culture of our community. Our pocket community will support environmental sustainability and contribute to reducing urban sprawl and carbon emissions. We will prioritize socialization and wellness, not profit. It will be a place of peace and healing, not maximum square footage.

Our veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam have already given so much, the least we can do for them is provide affordable and supportive housing.

Molly Brooks

Member of the board of directors, Hero’s Bridge

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