Nam Knights of America Motorcylce Club provided an early Thanksgiving dinner for the resident veterans. PHOTO: Gladys Krasicki
Some people may dedicate themselves to the ministry, some may work hard every day to raise a lot of money for charity, and some volunteer many hours at a soup kitchen or second-hand store.
Then, there’s the singular presence of Gladys Krasicki and her new Veterans Village in Absecon, New Jersey, which opened this spring. Her passion puts her at the high end of the community service scale.
Following graduation from Millville High School, Gladys enlisted in the National Guard, then volunteered for active duty and served 17 years. She now has 35 years of experience working with veterans as a treatment supervisor for transitional housing, a drug and alcohol counselor, and a teacher.
She’s had the decades-long goal of providing homes to disabled veterans. Now retired, Gladys has the time, skill and wherewithal to marshal community forces like building contractors, arborists, architects, lawyers, and small and large donors, to create something great. Out of an old, decrepit motel along the hardscrabble White Horse Pike just west of Atlantic City, she has fashioned a comfortable and affordable one-story condominium-style community, which homeless and home-insecure disabled veterans 55-and-older can finally call home.
Gladys, who formed the non-profit Veterans 101 three years ago with a partner, Eilliot Tawil of Long Branch, NJ, is on-site most of the time. She can talk to supporters and potential supporters on the phone, do floor layouts on her ubiquitous iPad, and talk to a reporter, all at the same time. (Her manager Paul, who preferred using only his first name, lives at the village to provide 24/7 supervision.)
Village resident George McKusky, with his prized car. “I had it when I came here, I used to have a lot of things,” he said. “Then, I had a tough time and I got scammed and I lost almost everything including my home.” CENTER: Gladys Krasicki is the force behind the effort to renovate apartments as funding becomes available. This unit awaits just its ceramic cooktop. “If there is the money,” she said, “it all goes into this right away.” RIGHT: Gladys Krasicki with Nick Desumma, Veterans Village’s first resident. PHOTOS: Mickey Brandt
Gladys doesn’t seem to treat Veterans Village as a cause, a project or, for that matter, a pipe dream. As much as she wants to credit all those who helped her, she created this place, and constantly coaxes it along with patience and an iron will. She believes without a doubt that she’ll finish it, scale it to other locations, and be with all-in for the long haul.
“We are not making this just a plain Jane living facility,” she told CBS News.” We are turning this into a community.”
The former motel, as unlikely as it seems, when built out will provide permanent one-room efficiency apartments for a total of 26 people. Volunteer construction crews and tradesmen (many of them veterans themselves) along with members of the community rip up old carpets, treat mold, refit old plumbing, replace doors and windows, refurbish kitchens and bathrooms, and spread gallons of fresh paint over the interior and exterior.
The list of volunteer construction companies, local businesses, and many veterans’ organizations that have freely given their time and money is too long to recount here.
Donations large and small, along with significant money from Gladys herself, allowed the purchase of the property after careful and sometimes contentious negotiations with the City of Absecon. After partial renovation, nine veterans have now rented apartments. Applicant residents need to qualify through the Veterans Administration (VA) and become eligible for housing vouchers through the U.S. Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to pay all or part of their rent.
The residents’ monthly incomes range from $275 to $424, and their rent payments are sliding scale. A few are self-pay, but at the DCA-controlled monthly rent. If they continue to qualify and follow the rules of the community, they may continue to renew. The property deed has a 100-year restriction that it can be used for no other purpose.
Gladys noted two residents couldn’t or wouldn’t follow the rules, especially the ones on alcohol abuse, and had to be evicted.
“It hurt my heart to put them out,” Gladys said. “But I can’t risk it—the stigma could destroy my place.”
Veterans 101 follows the VA policy of “Housing First,” so as soon as adequate donations are available, workers renovate more apartments and open them up. To Gladys, this is “common sense,” as opposed to building out the whole site and then begin taking in residents. This sensible policy, however, gives the village an unfinished look. The goal is full renovation and occupancy by fall 2025.
AN EARLY THANKSGIVING: On November 9, members of the Nam Knights of America Motorcycle Club, right, prepared and served an early Thanksgiving to the residents of Veterans Village. Events like this, including fund-raisers and work parties, help build a sense of community, which is vital to the success of the village. The motorcycle club has been a main source of support. PHOTOS: Gladys Krasicki
Veterans 101 makes sure that it is first servicing the veterans and getting them off the street and giving them everything they need, a hand up and not a handout.
The group has connected residents with local food banks and plans to expand wrap-around services to support community needs, including transportation, financial management, case management and more.
All under the watchful eye of “The General,” as resident George McKusky referred to Gladys during my visit.
The next big job at the evolving site will be installing a new roof. Paul, who previously was the motel manager, said of the building, “She’s an old lady, she’s 70 years old, we have to keep her in good shape.”
“This is my little paradise,” Gladys told me. “When I can house a veteran in here who didn’t have any home and is now ecstatic, that’s my reward; that’s what it’s all about.”
