An organization housing homeless veterans in Ellis County needs to raise thousands of dollars in the next few days to help get more vets off the street.NBC 5 first reported on the housing effort at Serenity Veterans Village in February.
They started building in 2021 and since then, have grown from 3 to 10 small housing pods that organizers call housettes.
The president of the organization says they have a waiting list of veterans who need housing, but right now four houses are empty until they can get into full compliance with the county. The county says each structure needs permits at $350 each and that they need to update the septic system and relocate sprinkler heads.
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"We have found somebody to move the sprinkler heads, we just have to raise the funds for it. And the reason it's so important is because if this does not all go through, we're going to have four vacant places where no one can stay. And they're going to be on the street for Christmas instead," said Serenity Veterans Village President, Lauren Andrade.Andrade says they've made progress and have spent more than $18,000 over the last month working to complete the requirements set forth by the county. She says she used this month's utility bill money to pay permit fees for 9 out of 10 permits, but needs to replace that money soon and raise nearly $5,000 to resolve all of their compliance issues.
Their next deadline is Dec. 3.