MINNEAPOLIS — Homeless and at-risk veterans have a new place to call home.

A partnership between the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans and the Minnesota Department of Veteran Affairs is expanding housing with a 17-unit apartment building in the middle of the Powderhorn neighborhood.

“This area here around Powderhorn Park it’s a preferred area its where people’s families are it’s where people’s medical providers are. It’s where people want to be as part of their community,” said Sara Riegle.

Sixteen one-bedroom apartments and one studio apartment will be home for many chronically homeless veterans who went to MACV and the MDVA for help.

“Recently we’ve had a surge of veterans actually coming to us with the registry due to the lifting of the moratorium for rental, we’ve seen a lot of veterans we’ve seen for the first time, “said Commissioner Larry Herke.

The funding for this expansion of veteran housing was made possible through the $5.4 million allocated in the 2022 Veterans Omnibus Bill.

“We received the funding in July, we purchased this building in July and we had veterans moving in in August,” said Riegle.

For Army Veteran Deangelo Monet, this space of his own is a dream come true.

“I was homeless and not anywhere to go, just kind of going from couch to couch and just trying to figure out the next steps in life,” he said.

Now he will not have to worry about where he will sleep and can concentrate on what’s next for his life.

“Just having a safe space to be and lay my head so I can focus on other things in life whether that be I’m starting back to college in January, working full time and things like that, “said Monette.

This partnership is working on more housing and it is needed, with more veterans stepping up and asking for help, MACV and MDVA are working on providing more housing.

“Our focus is more folks who need housing that is affordable and low-barrier. That’s the important thing,” said Riegle.

Minnesota is on course to be the fourth state in the country to end veteran homelessness.

There are currently around 280 unhoused veterans in our state. Most live in Hennepin and Ramsey counties.