By Laura D.C. Kolnoski
TINTON FALLS – A jubilant crowd of residents, staff and supporters gathered Nov. 10 to mark the one-year anniversary of the Gordon H. Mansfield Veterans Community on Essex Road.
The four-story complex of 70 one-bedroom apartments is part of the Soldier On nonprofit organization’s mission to end veteran homelessness by providing affordable housing complemented by support services and programs. The Soldier On model connects residents with local providers and organizations from food pantries to legal guidance.
There are six Soldier On facilities in Massachusetts where the group was founded and one in Albany, New York. The location in Tinton Falls is the first in New Jersey. All are named for a paralyzed Vietnam veteran and deputy secretary of the Veterans Administration who helped open the first location.
In July, The Two River Times reported rocker Jon Bon Jovi and wife Dorothea are supportive of the Tinton Falls location via their nonprofit JBJ Soul Kitchen of Red Bank and Toms River. The two organizations established a mutually beneficial working relationship, holding cooking and meal sharing events and crock pot donations, with Soul Kitchen hosting the veterans Memorial Day picnic.
On Friday, marking Veterans Day, Soldier On announced the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation will partner with the New England Patriots Foundation in a matching grant program to build another veterans residential community in Tewksbury, Massachusetts.
“No one who serves our country should have to find themselves sleeping on the streets,” said Jon Bon Jovi, JBJ Soul Foundation chairman, in a press release. “The foundation has been a long-time advocate for veterans, so when the opportunity came to expand our partnership with Soldier On beyond our JBJ Soul Kitchens, we knew we had to jump on it.”
“Soldier On is thrilled and honored to receive the support of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, the Kraft family, and Patriots Foundation,” said Bruce Buckley, CEO and president of Soldier On. “This development will provide a permanent home to 21 U.S. military veterans who have struggled with sustaining safe, stable housing. These brave men and women served our country when we needed them. Now they need our support.”
Since 2006, the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation has combated poverty, homelessness and hunger, helping provide funding for almost 1,000 units of affordable housing and shelter in 11 states and Washington, D.C. for thousands, including youth and veterans.
During the Tinton Falls anniversary festivities, Buckley accepted a congratulatory proclamation from the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners presented by Commissioner Lillian G. Burry, pivotal in making the project a reality through a 10-year effort at the local, county, state and federal levels. Burry learned of Soldier On through her husband Donald, a retired Coast Guard captain.
Originally, the $23 million facility was to be built on Fort Monmouth, which covers portions of
Eatontown, Oceanport and Tinton Falls and is undergoing a decade-long redevelopment. Potential sites were considered only to be withdrawn for various reasons.
Burry, the county’s representative on the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA), was aided by former Tinton Falls Council president Gary Baldwin, an Air Force veteran who represented the borough at FMERA meetings and lives in Seabrook Village, also on Essex Road. Baldwin and Gerald Turning, a former Tinton Falls mayor, arranged to sell Seabrook’s excess acreage to Soldier On for $1. Baldwin now serves on the Soldier On board.
“It took a lot of people’s hard work to make this facility a reality,” said David Ginsberg, vice president of Winn Development, builder of all Soldier On communities. “Hopefully this is the first of many in New Jersey and across the country.”
Residents work greenhouses on site and have access to a patio with grills, a walking trail and a columbarium with eternal flame for residents wishing to be interred there.
During the party, among those grooving to 1970s disco tunes was resident Cynthia Sandra Scott, the first tenant of the 10-unit women’s section. A retired U.S. Army private first class from Maryland, Scott is a survivor of military sexual trauma (MST). In need of treatment, she first went to the Lyons VA Medical Center in Somerset County, followed by a women’s shelter.
“I like it here because there are so many advantages and opportunities,” Scott said. “It’s affordable, and you can get help accomplishing everyday tasks. They help groom vets back into society. The staff is wonderful, and the case workers are outstanding.” For privacy and security, the women’s wing has a dedicated entry, laundry and gathering space.
“That’s mom! She’s our mom,” exclaimed another resident as he stopped to greet Burry, as did numerous staff and guests. A room in the facility chronicles the evolution of the complex, noting Burry’s involvement in photos and mementos.
“This first-class facility didn’t just happen,” Burry said, noting the anniversary fell on the 224th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps. “Other people were instrumental. The site needed to have enough land and a welcoming setting with access to resources for residents. Fortunately, there are organizations committed to helping our veterans. No organization does this better than Soldier On.”
“This was woods two years ago and now it’s a wonderful place,” Buckley concluded.
For information or to join the waiting list, visit wesoldieron.org.
The article originally appeared in the November 17 – 23, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
