Helping Those Who Served
A Cobb County hotel has been converted into 88 studio-style apartments for veterans in need of housing. The Tunnels to Towers Foundation, a nonprofit that started in New York shortly after the 9/11 attacks, opened the Atlanta Veterans Village in Austell in late August.
The project has been years in the making. Tunnels to Towers bought the Wingate by Wyndham hotel in the fall of 2023, according to Georgia Multiple Listing Service. The Home Depot Foundation invested $500,000 to help with the conversion and also donated necessities like linens, bathmats and shower curtains.
Photo credit: Tunnels to Towers
Tunnels to Towers was founded by the family and friends of New York City firefighter Stephen Gerard Siller, who died attempting to save people in the Twin Towers on 9/11 – even though he was not at work the morning the buildings were hit.
The foundation works to give mortgage-free homes to Gold Star families and fallen first responder families with young children and to build specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders.
One of the foundation’s goals is to eradicate homelessness among veterans. So far, the organization says it has helped 10,000 veterans nationwide with housing and related support services.
