Gage to lead Veterans Community Project
Submitted photos
Eric Gage, a 2001 Brandon Valley high School graduate, has been named as the executive director of the Veterans Community Project of Sioux Falls.
This is an aerial view of the Veterans Community Project of Sioux Falls. The project will provide 25 tiny homes to homeless veterans.
Veterans Community Project (VCP) of Sioux Falls has named Eric Gage as the organization’s first executive director. Gage is a Sioux Falls native and veteran of the South Dakota Air National Guard.
“Veterans housing veterans, armed with the strength and support of the community is what VCP is all about,” said Vincent Morales, Army veteran and co-founder of Veterans Community Project. “Eric’s commitment to service and his understanding of the challenges facing our fellow brothers and sisters make him an ideal leader for this mission.”
Veterans Community Project is a 501(c)(3) organization founded by a group of combat veterans in Kansas City, MO who were frustrated by the rampant homelessness within the veteran community.
Their solution to combat veteran homelessness is simple: provide homes with dignity and personalized, wrap-around services that support each veteran as they transition out of homelessness and achieve sustainable, life-changing goals.
Unlike some veteran agencies, VCP is dedicated to serving any man or woman who took the oath for our country regardless of discharge status or type of service. Their success rate for transitioning veterans from homelessness into permanent housing last year was 85 percent.
Using the success of Kansas City as a blueprint, VCP will officially break ground on a new village of tiny homes in Sioux Falls on Thursday, June 30.
According to Gage, the two-acre plot located at 376 Willow will include 25 tiny homes ranging from 240 to 320 square feet and a 3,000 square foot Village Center. The homes will provide security, privacy, and dignity for veterans and their families.
A large part of the home’s construction will be performed by community volunteers.
“Community is VCP’s middle name for a reason,” said Gage. “This will be Sioux Falls’ project; a way for our community to get involved and make a real impact in the lives of those who served us.”
After spending 12 years in the South Dakota Air National Guard, Gage played an active role in connecting veterans to their community through leadership roles in Student Veterans of America, Team Rubicon, and H.E.R.O (Haitian Emergency Response Operations).
Armed with the support of local business and community leaders, Gage reports that fundraising for the first phase of construction is already complete.
“Our goal is to begin housing veterans this winter,” said Gage.
To learn more about VCP of Sioux Falls, visit www.vcp.org.
