Kenneth Hemphill served his country as a soldier in the Army for nearly seven years. During that time, he moved from his home in Missouri to Fort Bliss in Texas to an Army base in Germany before returning home again, eventually settling in Hannibal, Missouri.
In the Army, he lived in military housing. When he left the service, he worked jobs such as driving a school bus and security before making enough money to rent a home of his own with an option to buy. It’s an option he eventually took, he says. But it was hard finding the funds to keep up with the maintenance his home requires.
“The financial part is a strain,” Hemphill says. His job in a nursing home allowed him to cover some of the repairs he needed to make. But there were more. That’s when he learned about the Self-Help Rehabilitation Program at North East Community Action Corp. (NECAC), a program that teaches veterans the skills to do their own repairs and helps fund them. For Hemphill, who conducted artillery maintenance and repair while in the Army, it was the perfect fit.
“I’ve learned a lot,” he says. “I’ve done floors and ceiling fans and windows and plumbing.” NECAC covered the cost of the supplies, along with the instruction. “They’ve bent over backwards to help me,” he says.
He sometimes shares tools with Howard Sommer, a supervisor at NECAC who has aided with the instruction and construction.
“I didn’t know I could put in 17 windows by myself,” says Hemphill. “I didn’t know plumbing when I started. As I’ve gone along over the years, I’ve really advanced.”
Next up is a roof replacement, he says, and he’s hoping friends and experts will help him with that one. “I’m grateful for the program and how it really applies to what we need,” he says. “This program help you really maintain your property. And every little bit helps.”
He’s told fellow veterans about the program, too. “They have been able to take part.”
“We have served a number of veterans who have been able to do a number of rehabilitation and repair jobs to their homes,” Potts says. That includes repairs that help with energy efficiency, replacement of decks to make them safe and accessible, replacement flooring and more.
“The work is important because it allows families to do repairs and rehabilitation on their homes and learn those new skills,” says Carla Potts, deputy director of NECAC. “It also enables them to have homes where they can age in place and have a home that is safe and energy efficient.”
The program started more than five years ago with a grant from HUD, Potts says, but NECAC has been doing weatherization and serving veterans for more than 40 years.
NeighborWorks America supports veterans across the network and is grateful to do so. According to NeighborWorks statistics, of the individuals and families helped by homeownership programs and preservation, affordable rental housing and commercial lending in the network, 8.5% were veterans. Veterans make up 6% of the general population in the country, according to the 2023 American Community Survey 1-year estimates. In addition to these services, NeighborWorks network organizations also offer programs also include supportive housing, job training assistance, and programs like NECAC’s.
Saying thanks
Thank you for your service!
It’s almost a reflexive statement from people passing a service member in uniform, says Andy Blomme, vice president of Legislative Affairs for NeighborWorks America, who served in the United States Coast Guard for 34 years before retiring and starting a second career in affordable housing and community development at NeighborWorks.
“But what do people really mean when they say it? Do they really understand what the ‘service’ is that they’re thanking the person for? Do they understand the weeks and months the veterans spent away from their families, sometimes in combat zones and deployed over holidays, missing children’s birthdays and other important milestones?... Do they understand what it’s like to move an entire household every two to three years, uprooting children from schools, having belongings lost or damaged by movers chosen because they were the lowest bidder?”
Those sacrifices deserve gratitude, Blomme says. “Long and dedicated service should also earn veterans a decent home in a nice community.”
The homeownership rate among veterans is higher than that of the general population, however, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness is also higher. In 2023, 35,574 veterans experienced homelessness.
There are places veterans can turn, Blomme says: The Housing and Urban Development – Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program, the Supportive Services for Veterans Families program, and the Veterans Affairs Loan program. And of course, the programs run by NeighborWorks network organizations.
“These programs truly thank veterans for their service in meaningful, life-changing ways,” he says. NeighborWorks organizations, too, show gratitude, and their assistance shows it. Blomme hopes individuals – as they celebrate Veterans Day but also in the days beyond, will also show gratitude, by asking for stories and learning more.
“Telling the story of NeighborWorks to staff members on Capitol Hill is so much easier because of the wide span and scope of our support,” he says. “Regardless of the office I’m visiting, I walk in knowing I’ll have a relevant story to tell. In addition to serving in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, NeighborWorks serves so many different groups. I’m very happy that veterans make up one of those many groups.”
Did you know that NeighborWorks also offers training for those working with veterans? Plus, on Nov. 12, NeighborWorks is hosting Supportive Housing and Resources for Veterans as an interactive webinar to familiarize counselors supporting veterans with the range of services offered by the Veterans Administration and how veterans can access these services for themselves and their families.
