Delaware County local opens the doors to a new home for veterans in honor of her son

Among Indiana’s unhoused population, several hundred are military veterans, according to a yearly statewide count.  And like the state’s overall housing shortage, homes for veterans are also in short supply.  In Delaware County, one woman has opened her home to be part of a federal program to give veterans a place to live and care they need.  IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports.

In 2021, Nik DeWeese started the process of turning his home into a Community Residential Care shelter for veterans. After his death the next year, his mother, Kara DeWeese, continued the project in his name.  She officially opened Nik’s Place for Veterans earlier this week.

“It feels accomplished. It was a labor of love,” DeWeese said.

To make the veterans’ home a reality, DeWeese fully remodeled the house she raised her kids in. That included putting in a countertop from the Texas Roadhouse restaurant that Nik worked at before he died.

The home now provides a place to live, transportation, meals and 24/7 onsite care for up to three veterans. Rent is based on individual income, and they are allowed to stay indefinitely.

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Veterans staying at the home will have a list of rules to follow, such as a zero tolerance policy for drug possession.

DeWeese wants the veterans staying at Nik’s Place to build a support system with each other and think of themselves as more than just roommates.

“So I’m hoping that, like I said, they kind of come together as a family,” she said. “I’m hoping the older gentleman is a mentor to the younger guy. And can kind of coach him along in some of life’s challenges.”

DeWeese says Nik’s interest in helping veterans came from his father, who was a retired member of the Army. Before becoming the director of Nik’s Place, DeWeese worked for Sure Valley Rescue Mission, a nonprofit low income housing organization in Columbus, Georgia. She believes that Nik being around her while she worked there further inspired him to help serve his community.  

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DeWeese says she hopes to expand Nik’s Place for Veterans in the future.

Nik’s Place for Veterans works with the Marion office of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for housing placement.

Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer.  Contact him at thomas.ouellette@bsu.edu