Vets on North Lacey

Spokane, Washington

This project was ten years in the making — passed between agencies, delayed, redesigned — but the heart of it never changed: giving homeless veterans a permanent place to land. Volunteers of America eventually took up that vision and saw it through

What started as townhomes became a cottage community built around a central courtyard, so residents could support each other while still healing and stabilizing on their own terms. Every design choice reflects that: a barbecue and picnic area for cooking together, raised garden beds tied to a future "Vets on the Farm" program, and a fire pit and paved gathering space for veterans used to sleeping outdoors, so being outside can be comfortable again instead of necessary. A flagpole, donated by a local organization, marks the courtyard as a place still shaped by service.

Inside each cottage, a small built-in nook gives residents a place to hang their own belongings and make the space theirs — often for the first time in years.