A Place for Heroes to Call Home in Sarasota, FL
Steven Mitchell is a Marine Corps veteran and a carpenter in Sarasota, Florida, where he moved in 2009. When the recovery residence he was living in was condemned, the Salvation Army helped him find Heroes' Village.
"It brought tears to my eyes, ain't going to lie. Having the time to not have to worry so much about rent and bills has enabled me to concentrate on finally finding something that's a career. And on top of that, taking care of my health."
Steven Mitchell, Marine Corps Veteran
He's one of 20 veterans now living at Heroes' Village—Sarasota's first affordable housing complex dedicated entirely to those who served. Ten two-bedroom units. It is their home, permanently, for as long as they choose.
The Idea That Stuck
It started with a conversation. In 2020, a group of donors approached Gulf Coast Community Foundation (Gulf Coast) with an idea grounded in a basic American promise: that we show up for the members of our armed forces and take care of them when they come home.
"This project would not exist without philanthropy. It's the will to get something done and push through that made this project happen."
Phillip Lanham, President and CEO, Gulf Coast Community Foundation
Built by Community
The $3 million project drew on private philanthropy, city resources, and the City of Sarasota donated the land and contributed $800,000 in public dollars. Gulf Coast Community Foundation assembled the remaining financing and brought the key partners to the table.
St. Vincent de Paul CARES manages the complex and provides wraparound services to residents—mental health care, transportation to medical appointments, and employment assistance. Residents pay no more than 30% of their income on rent and are eligible to stay indefinitely.
"It takes longer than you think it will, it'll be over budget and it takes lots of collaboration, but the proverb applies here: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
Phillip Lanham
More Than a Roof
Even veterans with income from Social Security or VA benefits face long odds in the Sarasota rental market. As of early 2025, 82 veterans in the region were on a housing waitlist.
"This project is not only about preventing homelessness, it's about providing housing with dignity."
Jon Thaxton, former Sarasota County commissioner, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Gulf Coast Community Foundation
Mitchell's neighbor, Paul-Stephen Varszegi, 66, a Marine Corps veteran who was struck by two cars and spent nine months in a VA hospital, applied for Heroes' Village from his hospital bed. He was approved in a month. "I was very grateful," he said, "because truthfully, I didn't have any place to go."
A First, Not a Last
Heroes' Village may be the first, but its founders are already thinking about what it could become. "We'll learn a lot from it," Lanham said.
Currently 20 veterans in North Sarasota have a place to call home. Outside, a 35-foot mural by local artist Tim Jaeger covers the side of the building, serving as a permanent marker of what a community can build when public resources and private partnership point in the same direction.
