Volunteers of America National Services Kicks off Partnership with YardHomes
In partnership, VOANS will develop ADU housing for veterans
ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 25, 2022 — Volunteers of America National Services announces a new partnership with YardHomes, a Minneapolis-St. Paul metro-focused Accessory Dwelling Unit specialist, to create innovative, permanent, supportive and affordable housing for veterans and their families formerly experiencing homelessness. As part of the VOANS Innovative Dwellings program, this partnership leverages a $3 million grant the Wells Fargo Foundation awarded to VOANS in 2020 to support the creation of 125-units of housing across four market areas served by local VOA affiliates and community partners. VOANS will assist YardHomes in completing its first phase of dwelling units in 2022 by providing pre-development assistance, design & construction support and expanded project management capacity. The announcement of this partnership is the first step in a series of efforts to help amplify and expand the innovative techniques deployed by YardHomes to transform affordable housing and the broader real estate industry.
“VOANS is excited to partner with YardHomes to expand its existing efforts in collaboration with the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans to create high quality backyard ADUs and small cottage home villages using full volumetric modular and structurally insulated panel-based dwellings,” said Sharon Wilson Geno, EVP and chief operating officer, Volunteers of America National Services. “These off-site construction technologies deliver exceptional value, quality and sustainability, and the locations add density in existing communities in ways that enhance the vitality of those neighborhoods and smartly leverage existing infrastructure.”
“VOANS and the Wells Fargo Foundation share our mission to create more homes, for more people, in more places,” said Nichol Dehmer, YardHomes founder. There are 19 cities in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area with ADU ordinances and more communities are adding such land use flexibility each year. By offering compact dwellings in the backyard of existing single-family homes plus groups of such dwellings in cottage villages, the VOANS / YardHomes partnership delivers housing embedded within existing neighborhoods that allow honorably discharged U.S. military service veterans to thrive in their next chapter of life.
“Having a healthy and affordable place to call home is an essential pathway for wellness, dignity, and economic opportunity,” said Eileen Fitzgerald, head of housing affordability philanthropy with Wells Fargo. “Lack of affordable housing puts millions at the edge of crisis and ADU’s can help to increase the supply of affordable housing. Wells Fargo is committed to the importance of home for everyone in our nation, especially veterans who have sacrificed so much, and we are proud to support Volunteers of America’s efforts to address veteran homelessness and stable housing,” said Eileen Fitzgerald, head of housing affordability philanthropy with the Wells Fargo Foundation.
For more information on VOANS, visit www.voans.org.
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About Volunteers of America National Services
VOANS, part of the Volunteers of America family of organizations, provides affordable housing and healthcare services in over 40 states in Puerto Rico. The organization employs over 2,800 professionals who provide high quality services and care to our clients. As one of the largest non-profit affordable housing owner/operators in the nation, the VOANS portfolio includes over 240 properties and 15,000 affordable housing units. VOANS also operates over 46 senior healthcare programs, including skilled nursing, assisted living, home health care, adult day and Program for All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). For more information on VOANS, please visit our website at www.voans.org.
Contact:
Laura Sildon, Volunteers of America National Services
240–447–3418 or LSildon@VOA.org
About YardHomes
YardHomesMN SBC is a Minnesota Special Benefit Corporation and WBE that brings a product, service, financing bundle to make it easier for customers to add an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) on their property. The traditional YardHomes customer typically uses the ADU for an aging parent or adult child. Through the Y-HELP® (YardHomes — Home Expansion Lease Program) program, YardHomes creates affordable housing for low-income residents who are eligible for various rental vouchers. The Y-HELP MACV veteran program is based on rental income support to the eligible veteran from the HUD-VASH program administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and social services provided directly to the veteran by the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MAC-V). Individuals, churches, community land trusts, nonprofits and other “hosts” provide low-cost land for the ADUs or cottage village cluster developments under a long-term ground lease or land sale. The Y-HELP® entity constructs, owns and property manages the ADU and leases the unit to the veteran. For more information on YardHomes visit www.YardHomesMN.com.
About Wells Fargo Foundation
Since 2015 the Wells Fargo Foundation has provided more than [$31] million in grants to support sustainable housing and homeownership for veterans. Wells Fargo’s collaboration on NeighborhoodLIFT® with NeighborWorks America has resulted in helping veterans across the country achieve the dream of homeownership by providing down payment assistance grants. To date, over [$7] million in grant assistance has been provided, resulting in more than [525] veterans purchasing a home. Additionally, Wells Fargo donates homes and vehicles to wounded veterans and Gold Star families, who also receive financial mentoring. Since 2012, Wells Fargo has donated more than [400] homes valued at over [$60] million to support veterans and their families in all 50 states.
