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| By Paula Canning Staff Writer HOLYOKE For Gil Gillette, the Chapin Mansion Veterans House provides more than just a place to call home. "It gives me peace and quiet, privacy, and respect," said the 48-year old disabled veteran who served in the Army National Guard from 1979 to 1995. The Veterans House, which has been home to Gillette for the past two years, opened its doors to other local veterans during an open house last Friday to offer them the services that Gillette and eight other residents currently utilize at the 181 Elm Street facility. "Many of our veterans have struggled in the private sector and need helping hand to get their lives back on track," said Maritza Rios, director of Housing Services for the Valley Opportunity Council (VOC) which facilitates the home. "Chapin Mansion offers this opportunity." According to Rios, the purpose of the open house was to invite all homeless veterans to the house to educate them about the housing opportunities available to them. The renovated, former single-family home, which has room for 15 residents, currently has six spots available for subsidized rent. Each living unit is a large bedroom that features a bed, a dresser, a microwave, and a small refrigerator. Some of the units have closets, and residents can also have their own television with cable, along with their own phone line. Rios explained that the residents share a living room area and a kitchen, as well as three bathrooms, and that visitors are allowed at the House from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Residents are offered an independent living arrangement in which they are given the opportunity to take advantage of services offered through the VOC and the Holyoke Soldier's Home, such as transportation, education and counseling. "We try to help [the veterans] out as much as we can," she said. In order to qualify to live at the House, veterans have to be homeless and are also required to have been sober for at least six months. Rios said that residents at the Home, which opened in 1997, tend to stay for extended periods of time. "It's usually a permanent place for them," she said. "More than half of the current residents have been here for more than six years." According to Rios, although the residents seem content with their living arrangement at the House, the problem has been making other area veterans aware of the housing opportunities. "A lot of veterans just don't know about us," she said, adding that most referrals are received from the Veterans Home in Holyoke. In addition to the lack of awareness, Rios said that another problem is that the House is assumed to be located in a high crime area. "We hope to change that belief and show that it is a very beautiful, great place to live," she said. "We have openings and we want people to move in." Gillette, who said he enjoys the "peace and quiet," above other benefits, was quick to agree that the House is a "great place to live." As far as Gillette is concerned, the home offers veterans the choice of either personal space, social interaction, or a mixture of both. "If you want to talk to people, you can, if not, you can stay in your room by yourself. No one is going to bother you," he said. He said that while not all residents get along well with each other, most residents offer each other a fair amount of respect. And in some cases, common grounds are reached and friendships form. "We talk about a lot of things, and find we have some things in common sometimes," he said. "It's nice to have that." The possibility of periodic social gatherings, such as card playing and dinners, may be in the near future, he said. "We're trying to get people to come together more here, especially because most of us don't like to spend the money on going out," he said. He said that he especially enjoyed the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays he has spent at the House, during which all of the residents "chipped in and and helped out to make wonderful dinners." Although he has family in the area, Gillette, who grew up in Chicopee, said that he is not as close with his family as he would like to be. "It's a real shame because I believe in strong family values," he said. Gillette, who underwent surgery for a knee replacement in December, said he is in the process of finding employment and would like to pursue hands-on job opportunities. "I like to work with my hands. I've always been good at that kind of stuff," he said. "If I set my mind to it, I can fix anything." If he doesn't find employment soon, he hopes to pursue a college education. For the past 25 years, the VOC has provided services to low income, working poor individuals and families in the Hampden County area. These services include energy assistance, housing, early education and child care, senior programming, transportation, WIC, adult education and additional programs. According to Rios, the VOC also operates facilities similar to the Chapin Mansion Veterans House called the Magueder House in Chicopee, along with several other subsidized housing units throughout Holyoke and Chicopee. For more information, call the Valley Opportunity Council at (413) 552-1554. |