{"id":3950,"date":"2026-03-24T12:13:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T12:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/?p=3950"},"modified":"2026-03-30T12:20:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T12:20:59","slug":"i-love-this-place-old-mains-rebirth-marks-five-year-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/i-love-this-place-old-mains-rebirth-marks-five-year-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I love this place’: Old Main’s rebirth marks five-year anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Around VA<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
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‘I love this place’: Old Main’s rebirth marks five-year anniversary<\/h2>\n\n\n
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By David Walter, Public Affairs Specialist<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

March 24, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Five years ago, U.S. Navy Veteran Chris was living in a dicey apartment in a building infested with bugs and rats and beset by drug users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when his VA caseworker told him about the opening of the Milwaukee Soldiers Home on the Milwaukee VA grounds, he decided to move into the historic structure known to many as Old Main.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a move he doesn\u2019t regret. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love this place,\u201d he said from his apartment on the first floor. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m going anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris, who asked that his last name not be used, spent years struggling with homelessness and alcoholism before getting connected with the Milwaukee VA. He\u2019s been sober for nearly five years and said he values his home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis has got to be one of the best places for Veterans,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve never lived in anything new in my life. I came from the projects. When I came here, it was like, \u2018Wow!\u2019 I said to myself, \u2018I\u2019m not going to mess this up.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is where I want to be. It\u2019s peaceful. It\u2019s quiet. It\u2019s nice. I don\u2019t want to get into any trouble. I enjoy where I\u2019m at.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Five years ago, U.S. Navy Veteran Chris was living in a dicey apartment in a building infested with bugs and rats and beset by drug users.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":3951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"priority":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[4],"class_list":["post-3950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-around-va","tag-housing"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/i-love-this-place-old-mains-rebirth-marks-five-year-anniversary\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"‘I love this place’: Old Main’s rebirth marks five-year anniversary","url":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/i-love-this-place-old-mains-rebirth-marks-five-year-anniversary\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/i-love-this-place-old-mains-rebirth-marks-five-year-anniversary\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/03\/Old-Main-and-Vet-resident.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/03\/Old-Main-and-Vet-resident.png"},"articleSection":"Around VA","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shawn Liu"}],"creator":["Shawn Liu"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"VA Homeless Programs","logo":""},"keywords":["housing"],"dateCreated":"2026-03-24T12:13:53Z","datePublished":"2026-03-24T12:13:53Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T12:20:59Z"},"rendered":"