FORKS — About 60 people attended a Saturday groundbreaking — and the beginnings of renovations — for a sanctuary for homeless veterans.
The event, which began at 10 a.m., drew supporters and volunteers who began breaking down portions of the building up for renovation.
Sarge’s Place, housed in a former apartment house — also known as the Peterson Building — at 260 Ash Ave. in Forks is expected to open in the spring for homeless rural veterans.
The North Olympic Regional Veterans Housing Network has been working on the project for about three years, said Cheri Fleck, project organizer and housing network president.
The facility will contain 12 transitional beds, including eight for men and four for women on the first floor. Sleeping areas will be separated by tall partitions.
Three two-bedroom family apartments will be on the second floor.
Residents can stay in the transitional beds for up to two years and in the apartments indefinitely.
Among the volunteers was the Clallam County chapter of the Roughnecks, a motorcycle group made up largely of law enforcement officers, said Eric Cram, one of the members.
Also attending the groundbreaking was Judith Morris, on behalf of Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, who represents the 6th Congressional District, which includes the North Olympic Peninsula.
Fleck and her team began working on Sarge’s Place about three years ago.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development — with help from U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Bothell — awarded the nonprofit North Olympic Regional Veterans Housing Network a $487,000 grant to buy and remodel the building.
The network also received a federal Department of Veterans Affairs daily grant of up to $38.90 per veteran for operating expenses.
__________
Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
