Cardinal Capital Management and The Center for Veterans Issues are honored to be recognized as leading the way in creating sustainable, supportive housing for Veterans.
Project Partners Receive Awards
Fair Housing Awards were presented on Friday, April 13, 2012 during the statewide Fair Housing Update and Awards Luncheon of the Wisconsin Fair Housing Network, held at the Italian Community and Conference Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Three fair housing awards were presented in various categories from among nominations submitted in response to a statewide solicitation to over 400 organizations.
A Partnership Fair Housing Award was presented to the Center for Veterans Issues, the Milwaukee Center for Independence, the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Chase Bank, the Social Development Commission and Cardinal Capital Management for their work to address a serious housing need among those who have served in the defense and security of our nation.
Our nation’s veterans with disabilities have often encountered discrimination when seeking housing. One out of six persons residing in homeless shelters is a veteran. The City of Milwaukee recognized a barrier to equal housing opportunity by including past or present membership in military service as a protected basis under its local fair housing ordinance. However more was needed for veterans with disabilities than just protection against discrimination.
The nine partners worked for several years to develop the Thomas H. Wynn, Sr., Memorial Veterans Manor, a 52-unit permanent affordable housing complex that also addresses specialized needs of the veterans’ disabilities. Some of these needs include on-site counseling provided by the Center for Veterans Issues and on-site job training provided by the Milwaukee Center for Independence. The other partners provided their housing management expertise or funding which enabled the success of the housing. This housing facility was recently named as a recipient of a Milwaukee Award for Neighborhood Development Innovation.
Veterans Manor Wins MANDI Award
Milwaukee Veterans Manor, a 52-unit apartment building that provides permanent supportive housing for veterans, was awarded a 2012 Milwaukee Neighborhood Development Innovation (MANDI) Award. This landmark project developed and managed by Cardinal Capital Management with their partner, the Center for Veterans Issues (CVI), won the prestigious MANDI award for their innovative approach to a community problem.
The Veterans Administration estimates that 107,000 veterans are homeless on any given night and that over the course of a full year that approximately twice that many will experience homelessness. Veterans Manor helps these veterans rebuild their lives by providing them with a modern, one bedroom apartment along with the onsite support services they need to access veterans’ benefits, fight substance abuse and live independent, productive lives.
The property also features a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen that is operated by the Milwaukee Center for Independence that brings employment training opportunities to individuals as they prepare meals for Milwaukee schools and an on-site café that is scheduled to open in the near future.
“Cardinal Capital Management is proud to have Veterans Manor recognized for its role in revitalizing this important city corridor and improving the lives of veterans and the other individuals who work and live at this property,” said Erich Schwenker, President of Cardinal Capital Management.