SHERIDAN - The name really says it all: Freedom Hall. It will become a place for veterans to experience support, learn life skills and find independence.

�The idea really is to make sure these guys have the mentoring, the counseling and the support they really need,� said Jeffrey Holsinger, president and CEO of Volunteers of America-Wyoming and Montana.

VOA broke ground Thursday on the transitional living facility in Sheridan that will serve homeless veterans throughout Wyoming. The 10-bed facility scheduled to open in May will include customized services for veterans who experience mental illness, substance abuse problems, and other disorders such as post-traumatic stress.

While many veterans now live at the VOA�s homeless shelter or complete treatment programs at the Sheridan Veterans Affairs Medical Center and live in the facility�s domiciliary residential program, many do not have a place to go as they work their way back into everyday life.

�One of the things we�ve been lacking is a transitional place for veterans,� said Debra Hirschman, director of Sheridan�s VA. �We needed that next piece to help them transition into society.�

Mission accomplished, said VOA�s Director of Development Bill Lucas.

�Men could either come out of the VA�s domiciliary or our homeless shelter to Freedom Hall,� Lucas said. Veterans must be referred by the VA or the VOA to be considered for acceptance at the facility.

Homelessness continues to be a problem for veterans. In the past 10 years, the VOA�s homeless shelter has served 5,000 people, of which 2,200 have been veterans. While the VA�s domiciliary already has 40 beds, five more beds are being added to help house a growing population. Many of the veterans using the facilities are Vietnam-era soldiers, but the number of younger veterans using the homeless shelter and treatment programs at the VA is also growing.

�Even as we see more and more veterans coming back from the war, they are coming off the plane and need a safe place to come back to and rebuild their lives,� Lucas said.

Veterans living in Freedom Hall will transition from homelessness or intensive in-patient treatment into normal life. VOA and VA clinicians will work together to provide support.

�It really is a true partnership,� Holsinger said.

By living in a safe, supportive environment, many veterans suffering from alcohol and drug addictions or other disorders will be able to achieve the tools and confidence necessary to rebuild their lives, according to officials.

�By them being together and supporting one another through working through life issues, this transitional home is just going to be a tremendous help for them to transition into the real world,� said Marty DaBell, VOA clinician.

Freedom Hall is expected to serve 13 veterans a year. Services will include case management, life skills training, permanent housing placement, employment readiness training and aftercare counseling. Veterans, who must be employed and must pay rent at the facility, can live in Freedom Hall for up to two years, and the home will have a common living and kitchen area for residents.

�It�ll build ownership and they�ll learn skills like budgeting and cohabitating,� said Will Banks, a social worker and homeless provider grant and per diem liaison at Sheridan�s VA.

There will be a zero-tolerance policy and staff will be on call 24 hours, but Freedom Hall will not be staffed full-time. Officials said the program is designed to teach veterans to become self-sufficient.

�We want these guys to be as independent as possible,� Lucas said. �These guys are really going to be responsible for one another and keeping one another in line as they rebuild their lives.�

Freedom Hall is the result of a partnership between VOA and the Veterans Affairs Administration, which awarded about $636,000 toward the construction of the facility through its Homeless Providers Grant/Per Diem Program Capital Grant. VOA has already raised $250,000 and is trying to raise an additional $150,000 for the project.

�We�ve raised almost 70 percent of our match,� Holsinger said. �We�ll be reaching out to the community to help us with this funding.�