By Yu Bai
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO – Military veterans in Jonesboro will soon have a permanent place to call home. Construction of the first ever veterans’ village is in its last stages of completion.

“The village looks to be done on March in the next year,” said Guy Pardew, the vice president of Olympus Construction, “we are really proud of it.”

The construction plans started in 2019, and almost all the basic construction of houses has now been completed.

The village includes nine units which can hold up to 20 people. Two of these units include a two-bedroom floor plan which is designed for veterans with their families. The reaming seven units are one-bedroom apartment.

In addition to living houses, the village will also include a faculty building and a community building that can provide computers to veterans to do their works.

The out-door area will be a common place for veterans to cook together.

The veterans village is a partnership between the city of Jonesboro and Arkansas State University. The Beck Pride Center of A-State is willing to provide combat wounded veterans with first class educational programs and services.

“Our goal is to get these homeless veterans back into society. So with the programming, we’ll use students from different programs like social work, occupational therapy, and physical therapy to provide services to these veterans,” said Lynda Nash, director of the Beck Pride Center.

To better treat those veterans with PTSD and psychological trauma, the Beck Pride Center also provides free classes to them, such as anger management, stress management, and music classes. When veterans join these classes, they will explore to learn more appropriate coping mechanisms with their leaders.

“It’s a national project between us and the village, we’re lucky because Jonesboro is the only city in Arkansas selected to build the village,” Nash said.

The village is built on Aggie Road from Pepsi Beverage warehouses. The Cooper-Mixon Architect Firm is responsible for the construction of the entire village project.

John Mixon, an architect at the Cooper-Mixon Architect Firm, said the house’s actual size is smaller than expected, which is adjusted according to actual needs.

The village is close to the road, so the transportation for veterans is convenient. The  city will provide a complete transportation system that includes bus stops, bicycles, and the JET system.

Total cost of the village is $1.1 million dollars.