Tunnels to Towers Opens Southfield Veteran Village: 92 Homes for Veterans

What Opened in Southfield, Michigan

The Southfield Veteran Village held its grand opening on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. The foundation converted a former hotel into 92 units of affordable, permanent housing designed to help veterans move from homelessness and housing instability toward long-term independence. This is the Detroit-area Veterans Village project I previewed earlier this month, now open and serving veterans.

Community partners joined the mission on day one: GM Cares, General Motors' charitable arm, donated $25,000 toward the program, a reminder that communities of every kind are stepping up for the people who served.

Why Converting a Hotel Is Smart

Turning an existing hotel into veteran housing is faster and more cost-effective than building from the ground up, and it answers a real shortage: stable, affordable places for veterans to rebuild. The model pairs a roof with wraparound services, so residents are not just housed, they are supported on a path toward self-sufficiency and independence.

For a U.S. Army veteran, this is the part that matters most. A veteran leaving homelessness needs more than a key. They need a place that comes with a plan, and Veterans Villages are built around exactly that idea.

The Same Week, the Same Mission

The Southfield opening landed in an extraordinary stretch for the foundation. Two days earlier, at a New York Islanders game on October 19, Tunnels to Towers paid off the mortgage of Hope McHale, a 57-year-old Manhasset, Long Island widow whose FDNY husband died on 9/11, and committed to covering her twins' college tuition.

The foundation remains on track to deliver more than 2,000 mortgage-free homes to hero families by the end of 2026, with more than $1 billion committed across its programs. Each unit in Southfield and each mortgage payoff is a family that gets to keep or gain stable ground. More on the week's news is in my late-October Tunnels to Towers update.

What Comes Next

• Trinity Pasco 5K Run & Walk: Saturday, October 24, in Odessa, Florida.
• Northfield, New Jersey Veterans Village groundbreaking: Wednesday, October 28, at 11 a.m. at 1823 Wabash Avenue, on the former Arthur R. Henry Inc. site.
• More events nationwide: the foundation regularly adds 5Ks and service projects, so check the Tunnels to Towers events calendar.

Why This Mission Matters Close to Home

Some people ask why a Santa Clarita REALTOR writes so often about a national foundation. The answer is simple: the families this mission serves live everywhere, including Southern California. The first West Coast 5K ran at Huntington City Beach on September 19: why that event matters for our region. The Steel Across America tour carried a World Trade Center beam through the West LA Veterans Campus this summer. A veteran in Valencia, a firefighter's widow in Canyon Country, a Gold Star parent in Saugus: hero families are our neighbors.

My commitment to Service Before Self is why I support this mission, and it is the same reason I serve veterans, first responders, and special-needs families in my everyday work. When a hero family has a stable home, the schools, the neighborhoods, and the whole community feel it.

How You Can Help

• Donate or fundraise: Every dollar at t2t.org goes directly toward mortgage-free homes and veteran housing.
• Register for a 5K: The Trinity Pasco event is October 24, with more events added nationwide all the time.
• Attend the ceremonies: The Northfield, New Jersey groundbreaking is October 28, open to the public.
• Share the story: A veteran or first-responder family in your own network may not know about the mortgage assistance and housing support available to them. Sharing this article is an easy way to serve.

Frequently Asked Questions