New Bedford, MA – Sean Brooke was an Army combat medic who died in 2005 after a 14-month tour of duty in Iraq. THe ribbon cutting of the Sean Brooke House was held on Tuesday, June 22nd with Sean’s family, the Mayor of New Bedford and other city and military dignitaries in attendance. The Sean Brooke House was developed by Caritas Communities, a non-profit organization committed to providing affordable housing to those in need, and the building will eventually be home to 19 U.S. veterans who would not otherwise have a place of their own.
“We take tremendous pride in the opening of the Sean Brooke House,” says Mark Winkeller, Executive Director of Caritas Communities. “A majority of the homeless in New Bedford are veterans so this will help fill a crucial need. By offering affordable housing to the veterans of New Bedford we are not giving them a hand-out, we are giving them a home.”
Winkeller will be joined by New Bedford Mayor Scott W. Lang and members of Sean Brooke’s family when they cut the ribbon to officially open the home at 11am on Tuesday, June 22nd. Also participating will be Vietnam veteran and former first lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps Kathleen Splinter, the president of Welcome Home Veterans Housing, a group of veterans that have been pursuing affordable, safe and permanent housing for veterans in New Bedford for the past decade.
“To see this home completed is a dream come true,” says Splinter. “And to have Sean’s parents and relatives here to see its doors open for the first time makes it even more special. We’re veterans…we know what it means to fight for what’s right, and the Sean Brooke House has been worth fighting for.”
The Sean Brooke House is located at 116 Lindsey Street in New Bedford. Financing for the Sean Brooke House has been made possible by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, Massachusetts Affordable Housing Trust, City of New Bedford, Citizens Bank, Massachusetts Technology Council, Federal Home Loan Bank Board of Boston, Community Economic Development Assistance Corp., Charlesbank Homes, The MassHousing CCRI Foundation and Welcome Home Veterans.
Details on how veterans can apply to live at the Sean Brooke House can be found at www.caritascommunities.org