February 18, 2025 • 18 mins
HOUSES FOR WARRIORS NEEDS YOUR HELP! And they are having an online Telethon starting at 3pm Saturday as they try to raise $500,000 to build an even larger house to not only give veterans a place to live but a place to rebuild their lives as well. I've got CEO and Founder Andrew Canales on at 1pm today to talk about how you can help. Find the telethon here, and find out more about Houses for Warriors by clicking here.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm thrilled to have with me now Andrew Canal. He
is the CEO and founder of Houses for Warriors, a
wonderful operation that decided to try and tackle homelessness in
the veteran community, but now it's just turned into even
so much more. Andrew, first of all, welcome back to
the show.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Thanks for having me back. It's good to see you.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
So let's talk for a second. If nobody's ever heard
of Houses for Warriors, let's talk about how this thing
got started, what the mission is, and what you've accomplished
in the lifespan so far.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Yeah, I guess it all kind of starts with my story.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
You know, when I got out of the military, I
had two combat tours in Iraq. I survived a major
rocket attack that injured a lot of people, and I
really struggled with.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
PTSD and.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Just controlling my emotions and not being responsible and not
making responsible choices, and you know, between addiction issues and alcoholism.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
You know, I was I hit rock bottom.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
And I was able to get out of it through
getting support and getting my disability, which I was entitled to.
The whole time that I struggled, you know, I was
homeless for two and a half years and just you know,
in and out of a lot of turmoil and didn't
have really a support network. And when I finally got
(01:27):
support and I finally asked for help, and I.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Started changing my life. I really started.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Wanting to you know, continue my service and give back
in a different way. And so, you know, when people
started seeing that my life was getting better and and
you know, I was becoming more.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Successful, and I got a service dog, and people, how'd
you get your dog? How? You know, how did you
do this? How did you get your benefits?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
And I started just really helping the people that I
knew that had served, and it grew there. You know,
after I received a service dog and got inspired, I
started going back to school and I started Houses for
Warriors in twenty nineteen and and the whole purpose was
to improve the quality of life for all injured and
(02:15):
homeless veterans. I had also been injured. I broke both
in my femurs mountain biking, and it was just it
was a crazy time in my life that just spiraled
and went, you know deeper and deeper and darker and darker.
And so to get out of that and to reclaim
my life and rebuild my life. And now I have
a successful business and I'm married and we're working on kids,
(02:38):
and you know, there's there's a lot that has changed
that I never saw myself have, that I could never
see myself having when when I was in it, when
I was when I was struggling. And so, you know,
it's been five years. We've grown way beyond how we started.
You know, we started out doing service projects, and I
(03:00):
was just organizing construction projects for veterans that needed you know,
ramps and wheelchair accessibility and new roofs or major repairs,
and built the community of contractors and volunteers to do
these projects. And then beyond that, you know, in twenty
twenty one, during the pandemic, we started getting lots of
(03:22):
calls looking for homes and looking for places to go.
You know, people calling in the winner saying, Hey, I'm
on the street and I have nowhere to go. And
so we got we got our start in the transitional
housing by just getting people hotels, extended state hotels. We
worked out a deal with one of the with one
of the local hotels here and and really anybody that
(03:42):
had an available room, we would and I would like
raise money individually for these individuals and get them as
much support as I can. And then it got into
giving them jobs with the contractors and construction, and then
and and we eventually got our own transitional home in
twenty twenty one. We started by leasing this house. It
(04:04):
was a five bedroom home that we had seven beds
and we were transitioning. It took a lot to start,
but we ended up transitioning about fifteen, maybe eighteen veterans
to that house. And then just under about a year
and a half ago, we moved into a nicer neighborhood,
a nicer home that had more space, and we gave
(04:25):
everyone their own bedroom. We learned from the first home
and we decided to cut it down to four. So
we've been helping four veterans at a time, about ten
to twelve per year in this one home.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
And you know, we're.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Getting to the point now where we've helped about thirty
six veterans and the program has evolved from just providing
a safe place, you know, That's how it started. It
was a safe, comfortable place that had all the amenities
of any group home, video games and TV streaming and all.
That room has a TV and and the idea evolved
(05:04):
into Okay, you know, let's give them new structure. You know,
let's create you know, we've created house rules and chores
and you know, they have to take care of their space.
And then beyond that, you know, we we raise We
do a bunch of drives and raise money so that
we can provide all the basic needs that they would
need in that home. So their food's provided, freezer Giant
(05:26):
thirty thirty, keep a foot freezer full of meat and food.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
All the house.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Goods, toilet paper, paper products, like everything is provided so
that they can really just focus on getting on their feet.
We implemented a ninety day program with a mentor and
a coach and a facilitator and they give us one
weekend a month now where they are focused on personal
growth and doing personal development workshops and professional development workshops
(05:56):
with their coaches in a structured environment. We're actually doing
THEEDS at Redrox Community College, so they're they graciously gave
us a classroom.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Space to do this, this class every.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Weekend or every a week, one weekend a month, and
it's very intensive. They're they're dealing with like deep rooted
programs and deep rooted money issues and trauma in and
out of the military, you know, from childhood and and
post military as well. So you know, it's a very
(06:28):
intense program. It's gotten more and more intense intensive and
really just focused on the individual's needs, helping them set goals,
and then having a support network and a group of
people that are holding them accountable to doing what they
say they're going to do, the choices that they're making,
(06:49):
and ultimately, you know, working as a team within the home.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
To support each other through through all of this.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
And and it's it's been a beautiful thing to witness.
We've had some tremendous results, you know, the program, it's
it's working more and more as time goes on because
we're getting more experienced. We're we're altering the program as
as we learn from from every veteran that goes through it,
constantly making it better, constantly giving them more attention and
(07:19):
more focus and more support, but at the same time
holding them accountable to doing it themselves, you know, being responsible,
making responsible choices, and and and really just we're you know,
our program really combats any other other transition program out there.
You know, we're we're not just giving them a handout
We've always said we're a handout, not a handout, and
(07:43):
you know, the government's very focused on creating dependency and
maybe maybe unintentionally, you know, let's.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Just say politically, I can argue about both of the policies. Yeah, no, no,
I was just going to say, Andrew, this is what
I love about this because one of the things that
I learned throughout the years of talking to people with
different kinds of programs similar to this one, and that
is when you add in the responsibility piece, when you
add in the sense of responsibility to the other housemates
(08:11):
that live there, and you know, holding others accountable, those
are the kind of things that help someone build their identity,
their own self worth back is because being part of
the pack again and being part of a group and
then being a good member of that group. I mean,
that's that's a really powerful thing. How did that evolve?
Did that evolve organically? Where guys were like, look, you
(08:34):
got to pull your weight? I mean, how did that
process come about?
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Well, it always happens a little organically because if somebody
is not pulling their weight around the house, the burden
gets heavy on the other three. Having a small collaborative
living environment like that if somebody leaves their dishes in
the sink, there's only one of four people that can
be like it, yeah, you know. So and empowering the
veterans to manage their own home. You know, we we
(09:01):
step in, we're we're constantly there. We have house meetings
every week. You know, they're required to check in with
their mentors three times a week on time at the
time they designate. They can renegotiate that, but but ultimately there,
you know, it's a structure. And when when they're when
they start falling outside of the structure, you know, it's
(09:22):
the rest of their group finds out very quickly and and.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
It it took a lot of work to get here.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
You know, we actually hired an amazing facilitator. He was
actually a personal mentor of mine. He you know, I
went through a similar ninety day growth program that that
had a different structure, but ultimately the same program that
that really turned me into the man I am today. Uh,
(09:51):
you know, and that was just within the last few years,
you know, in the middle of my my journey with
the nonprofit, and so.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
To be able to offer it.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
To them and restructure it to fit into the housing program.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
It's been a major.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Void that we've filled with hiring this facilitator, and this
facilitator brought an amazing team of volunteer coaches that have
been through advanced personal growth work. They they've all been
experienced working together. I met a lot of them. A
lot of these people were at my wedding, you know,
(10:27):
that's how close we all are. And and so, you know,
getting these people involved has made a tremendous impact in
the lives of the veterans that veteran the program. Currently,
we're seeing major changes in character and behavior. You know,
one that there's one story in particular. He stands out
(10:49):
because he really struggled. He had a criminal background. Unfortunately,
he you know, had a really hard time getting a
job when he moved here. He moved here to get
away from a crowd that was holding him down and making,
you know, and supporting bad choices in his life. So
he took the risk, came all the way to Colorado.
(11:10):
We helped him get here and then moved into our home.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
And then just really struggled and struggled.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
And you can only struggle so long, you know, with
the same mindset, and it eventually really weighs on you.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
And so once we implemented the ninety day program.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
And we got him a mentor, we got him a coach,
and we started doing these weekend seminars, he really started
breaking out of his old.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Patterns and programs.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
And you know, he is now doing a culinary program
with another veteran organization. He's learning how to be a chef.
It's a very good industry for him to be in
because they a lot of the time, as long as
you can cook good food and do your job and
pay attention and be clean and do you know, do
the job right, they don't care about.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Your history, your background, and very similar to construs.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Yeah, and so you know, we we get them, you know,
we we we do our best to navigate their personal
barriers and and they're all different. Everybody has a different story.
You know, some people aren't ready for the type of
intensive personal work that we're we're we're kind of.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Pushing them into.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
And then you know, it's it's like we say, it's
not just a housing program. This is a transformative, transformative
program that's going to help them never be homeless again.
And that's what I was getting to to, you know,
the current programs out there, you know, they just create dependency,
and and these guys are.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Going from program to program to program.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
And and a lot of them just aren't getting any
real tools or resources to change their lives.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Right, And so I can I.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Can confidently say that that Houses for Warriors, and this
Warrior House program and our Warrior Resiliency Training, that ninety
day program is all is actually doing that. We're actually
transforming lives from the root causes of their struggles and
what led them to being homeless. And we're giving them
(13:06):
the tools and the resources and the mindset and the
support really is the big one, the real support to
change their lives and make different choices and start getting
what they want in life.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
You know, it wasn't enough for me to just get
them an apartment. To help them get an apartment.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
And you know, beyond that, we we also furnish those apartments.
When they move out, we collect furniture and house goods
and make sure that they don't need anything during this
trans transition. Andrew let me, that wasn't enough for me.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
I don't want to I don't want to run out
of time, but I want to make sure we get
to what's happening this Saturday. Tell me, first of all,
what are we raising five hundred thousand dollars to do?
And how how are you doing this Saturday at three?
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Awesome? Thank you for asking. I can ramble.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
I know I'm very passionate about this and and this,
this upcoming event on to twenty two is a huge,
huge milestone for our organization. We're hosting this in our
in our classroom at Red Rocks Community College. It's also
a hybrid event, so you can you can attend virtually
and watch and share the live stream and even go
(14:18):
live yourself.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
But this is a this is a community effort.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
It's about stepping up and and and volunteering and helping
us raise this money.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
It's it's incorporated.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Into our ninety day program with the current veterans that
are there, we're going to we're going to be interviewing
some of those guys and hearing their stories directly. Uh,
We're going to be streaming the entire event, and and
the goal is to buy a new home, a bigger,
nicer home. We've we've had about a maybe for about
(14:51):
a year and a half now, we've had a waiting
list of at least four to five veterans at any
given time, and we just we just you know, this
is a process. You know, it takes you know, between
three and nine months to really you know, help this
help these guys change and transform their lives.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
And so.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
You know, we just we don't have enough space and
we haven't been able to just get them in and
out fast enough.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
You know. We we give them as.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Much time as they need typically to to transition back
into an independence, uh life.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
So this, this.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
Fundraiser is about getting involved, making this mission your mission.
It's about coming together as a community and purchasing this home.
You know, obviously five hundred thousand dollars isn't enough to
buy the house that we want. You know, this is
we're looking at eight to ten rooms with a wreck
room and a study room and and just you know,
(15:48):
amenities for them to to really collaborate, work together, feel
comfortable and show them what's possible in their lives. And
you know, in order to do you know, obviously, any
donation supports us five dollars, one thousand dollars, one hundred
thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Right, anything will help.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
The goal is to get enough to put a significant
down payment on a new home, you know, reduce the
mortgage as much as possible by putting as much down
as we can and then putting some money into our
account for operations, and you know, supporting the program for
the next.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Year or two.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
So we have a number of ways to do this. Obviously,
they can show up, help us, make calls. We're encouraging
everyone to you know, call those friends and family that
you know will support our mission and support housing homeless veterans.
We we also encourage you to go live and share
the live stream.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Mention it on the day of and share the.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
Link and get people there. Like I said, we'll be
interviewing veterans. We'll be interviewing some of the volunteers and
the coaches that are working one on one with our vets.
And there's also some naming rates opportunities as well. So
if you want to really you know, kick down and
and and be a big, big help for for this campaign.
(17:14):
Help us by naming a bedroom, help us by naming
that new movie room that we want to build, or
the game room, or even name the house right. You know,
those are the biggest ways to support. You know, it
comes with recognition and you know we'll we'll invite you
to all of our graduation events. You get to meet
the veterans that are that are supporting, that we're supporting,
(17:36):
and and it's just it's gonna be a good time.
We're gonna have pizza, we're gonna have volunteers, and the
team uh w RT Team one is going to be
present and helping and supporting. And it's part of their
ninety day growth program is to be involved and give
back to those who are giving well.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
I Andrew, I appreciate it. I put everything on the blog.
So Andrew Knelis is my guest from Houses for Warriors.
This is all happening Saturday from three to six pm,
a telethon. I was going to ask you if Cherry
Lewis was going to host, but I doubt it because
he's old and cranky.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Now.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
I also put a link to the Houses for Warriors website.
If you just want to jump right there and make
a donation, you can do that as well, or you
can participate on Saturday, or you can make a donation
big enough, or you can just give him a house
if you have an eight to ten bedroom house laying around,
don't know what to do with it. Just give Andrew
a call and say I've got a house for you.
That would be fantastic, great tax right off for you. Andrew.
(18:31):
I love what you're doing and I cannot wait to
hear about the next house that you guys at Houses
for Warriors are going to be able to open with
this money.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Well, I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
I really appreciate your time and letting me share this mission, all.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Right, Andrew Canalis, thank you so much, my friend.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Thank you. Have a good day, all right.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
That is Andrew Canalis with Houses for Warriors,
I'm thrilled to have with me now Andrew Canal. He
is the CEO and founder of Houses for Warriors, a
wonderful operation that decided to try and tackle homelessness in
the veteran community, but now it's just turned into even
so much more. Andrew, first of all, welcome back to
the show.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Thanks for having me back. It's good to see you.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
So let's talk for a second. If nobody's ever heard
of Houses for Warriors, let's talk about how this thing
got started, what the mission is, and what you've accomplished
in the lifespan so far.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Yeah, I guess it all kind of starts with my story.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
You know, when I got out of the military, I
had two combat tours in Iraq. I survived a major
rocket attack that injured a lot of people, and I
really struggled with.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
PTSD and.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Just controlling my emotions and not being responsible and not
making responsible choices, and you know, between addiction issues and alcoholism.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
You know, I was I hit rock bottom.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
And I was able to get out of it through
getting support and getting my disability, which I was entitled to.
The whole time that I struggled, you know, I was
homeless for two and a half years and just you know,
in and out of a lot of turmoil and didn't
have really a support network. And when I finally got
(01:27):
support and I finally asked for help, and I.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Started changing my life. I really started.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Wanting to you know, continue my service and give back
in a different way. And so, you know, when people
started seeing that my life was getting better and and
you know, I was becoming more.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Successful, and I got a service dog, and people, how'd
you get your dog? How? You know, how did you
do this? How did you get your benefits?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
And I started just really helping the people that I
knew that had served, and it grew there. You know,
after I received a service dog and got inspired, I
started going back to school and I started Houses for
Warriors in twenty nineteen and and the whole purpose was
to improve the quality of life for all injured and
(02:15):
homeless veterans. I had also been injured. I broke both
in my femurs mountain biking, and it was just it
was a crazy time in my life that just spiraled
and went, you know deeper and deeper and darker and darker.
And so to get out of that and to reclaim
my life and rebuild my life. And now I have
a successful business and I'm married and we're working on kids,
(02:38):
and you know, there's there's a lot that has changed
that I never saw myself have, that I could never
see myself having when when I was in it, when
I was when I was struggling. And so, you know,
it's been five years. We've grown way beyond how we started.
You know, we started out doing service projects, and I
(03:00):
was just organizing construction projects for veterans that needed you know,
ramps and wheelchair accessibility and new roofs or major repairs,
and built the community of contractors and volunteers to do
these projects. And then beyond that, you know, in twenty
twenty one, during the pandemic, we started getting lots of
(03:22):
calls looking for homes and looking for places to go.
You know, people calling in the winner saying, Hey, I'm
on the street and I have nowhere to go. And
so we got we got our start in the transitional
housing by just getting people hotels, extended state hotels. We
worked out a deal with one of the with one
of the local hotels here and and really anybody that
(03:42):
had an available room, we would and I would like
raise money individually for these individuals and get them as
much support as I can. And then it got into
giving them jobs with the contractors and construction, and then
and and we eventually got our own transitional home in
twenty twenty one. We started by leasing this house. It
(04:04):
was a five bedroom home that we had seven beds
and we were transitioning. It took a lot to start,
but we ended up transitioning about fifteen, maybe eighteen veterans
to that house. And then just under about a year
and a half ago, we moved into a nicer neighborhood,
a nicer home that had more space, and we gave
(04:25):
everyone their own bedroom. We learned from the first home
and we decided to cut it down to four. So
we've been helping four veterans at a time, about ten
to twelve per year in this one home.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
And you know, we're.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Getting to the point now where we've helped about thirty
six veterans and the program has evolved from just providing
a safe place, you know, That's how it started. It
was a safe, comfortable place that had all the amenities
of any group home, video games and TV streaming and all.
That room has a TV and and the idea evolved
(05:04):
into Okay, you know, let's give them new structure. You know,
let's create you know, we've created house rules and chores
and you know, they have to take care of their space.
And then beyond that, you know, we we raise We
do a bunch of drives and raise money so that
we can provide all the basic needs that they would
need in that home. So their food's provided, freezer Giant
(05:26):
thirty thirty, keep a foot freezer full of meat and food.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
All the house.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Goods, toilet paper, paper products, like everything is provided so
that they can really just focus on getting on their feet.
We implemented a ninety day program with a mentor and
a coach and a facilitator and they give us one
weekend a month now where they are focused on personal
growth and doing personal development workshops and professional development workshops
(05:56):
with their coaches in a structured environment. We're actually doing
THEEDS at Redrox Community College, so they're they graciously gave
us a classroom.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Space to do this, this class every.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Weekend or every a week, one weekend a month, and
it's very intensive. They're they're dealing with like deep rooted
programs and deep rooted money issues and trauma in and
out of the military, you know, from childhood and and
post military as well. So you know, it's a very
(06:28):
intense program. It's gotten more and more intense intensive and
really just focused on the individual's needs, helping them set goals,
and then having a support network and a group of
people that are holding them accountable to doing what they
say they're going to do, the choices that they're making,
(06:49):
and ultimately, you know, working as a team within the home.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
To support each other through through all of this.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
And and it's it's been a beautiful thing to witness.
We've had some tremendous results, you know, the program, it's
it's working more and more as time goes on because
we're getting more experienced. We're we're altering the program as
as we learn from from every veteran that goes through it,
constantly making it better, constantly giving them more attention and
(07:19):
more focus and more support, but at the same time
holding them accountable to doing it themselves, you know, being responsible,
making responsible choices, and and and really just we're you know,
our program really combats any other other transition program out there.
You know, we're we're not just giving them a handout
We've always said we're a handout, not a handout, and
(07:43):
you know, the government's very focused on creating dependency and
maybe maybe unintentionally, you know, let's.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Just say politically, I can argue about both of the policies. Yeah, no, no,
I was just going to say, Andrew, this is what
I love about this because one of the things that
I learned throughout the years of talking to people with
different kinds of programs similar to this one, and that
is when you add in the responsibility piece, when you
add in the sense of responsibility to the other housemates
(08:11):
that live there, and you know, holding others accountable, those
are the kind of things that help someone build their identity,
their own self worth back is because being part of
the pack again and being part of a group and
then being a good member of that group. I mean,
that's that's a really powerful thing. How did that evolve?
Did that evolve organically? Where guys were like, look, you
(08:34):
got to pull your weight? I mean, how did that
process come about?
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Well, it always happens a little organically because if somebody
is not pulling their weight around the house, the burden
gets heavy on the other three. Having a small collaborative
living environment like that if somebody leaves their dishes in
the sink, there's only one of four people that can
be like it, yeah, you know. So and empowering the
veterans to manage their own home. You know, we we
(09:01):
step in, we're we're constantly there. We have house meetings
every week. You know, they're required to check in with
their mentors three times a week on time at the
time they designate. They can renegotiate that, but but ultimately there,
you know, it's a structure. And when when they're when
they start falling outside of the structure, you know, it's
(09:22):
the rest of their group finds out very quickly and and.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
It it took a lot of work to get here.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
You know, we actually hired an amazing facilitator. He was
actually a personal mentor of mine. He you know, I
went through a similar ninety day growth program that that
had a different structure, but ultimately the same program that
that really turned me into the man I am today. Uh,
(09:51):
you know, and that was just within the last few years,
you know, in the middle of my my journey with
the nonprofit, and so.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
To be able to offer it.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
To them and restructure it to fit into the housing program.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
It's been a major.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Void that we've filled with hiring this facilitator, and this
facilitator brought an amazing team of volunteer coaches that have
been through advanced personal growth work. They they've all been
experienced working together. I met a lot of them. A
lot of these people were at my wedding, you know,
(10:27):
that's how close we all are. And and so, you know,
getting these people involved has made a tremendous impact in
the lives of the veterans that veteran the program. Currently,
we're seeing major changes in character and behavior. You know,
one that there's one story in particular. He stands out
(10:49):
because he really struggled. He had a criminal background. Unfortunately,
he you know, had a really hard time getting a
job when he moved here. He moved here to get
away from a crowd that was holding him down and making,
you know, and supporting bad choices in his life. So
he took the risk, came all the way to Colorado.
(11:10):
We helped him get here and then moved into our home.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
And then just really struggled and struggled.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
And you can only struggle so long, you know, with
the same mindset, and it eventually really weighs on you.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
And so once we implemented the ninety day program.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
And we got him a mentor, we got him a coach,
and we started doing these weekend seminars, he really started
breaking out of his old.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Patterns and programs.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
And you know, he is now doing a culinary program
with another veteran organization. He's learning how to be a chef.
It's a very good industry for him to be in
because they a lot of the time, as long as
you can cook good food and do your job and
pay attention and be clean and do you know, do
the job right, they don't care about.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Your history, your background, and very similar to construs.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Yeah, and so you know, we we get them, you know,
we we we do our best to navigate their personal
barriers and and they're all different. Everybody has a different story.
You know, some people aren't ready for the type of
intensive personal work that we're we're we're kind of.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Pushing them into.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
And then you know, it's it's like we say, it's
not just a housing program. This is a transformative, transformative
program that's going to help them never be homeless again.
And that's what I was getting to to, you know,
the current programs out there, you know, they just create dependency,
and and these guys are.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Going from program to program to program.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
And and a lot of them just aren't getting any
real tools or resources to change their lives.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Right, And so I can I.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Can confidently say that that Houses for Warriors, and this
Warrior House program and our Warrior Resiliency Training, that ninety
day program is all is actually doing that. We're actually
transforming lives from the root causes of their struggles and
what led them to being homeless. And we're giving them
(13:06):
the tools and the resources and the mindset and the
support really is the big one, the real support to
change their lives and make different choices and start getting
what they want in life.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
You know, it wasn't enough for me to just get
them an apartment. To help them get an apartment.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
And you know, beyond that, we we also furnish those apartments.
When they move out, we collect furniture and house goods
and make sure that they don't need anything during this
trans transition. Andrew let me, that wasn't enough for me.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
I don't want to I don't want to run out
of time, but I want to make sure we get
to what's happening this Saturday. Tell me, first of all,
what are we raising five hundred thousand dollars to do?
And how how are you doing this Saturday at three?
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Awesome? Thank you for asking. I can ramble.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
I know I'm very passionate about this and and this,
this upcoming event on to twenty two is a huge,
huge milestone for our organization. We're hosting this in our
in our classroom at Red Rocks Community College. It's also
a hybrid event, so you can you can attend virtually
and watch and share the live stream and even go
(14:18):
live yourself.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
But this is a this is a community effort.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
It's about stepping up and and and volunteering and helping
us raise this money.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
It's it's incorporated.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Into our ninety day program with the current veterans that
are there, we're going to we're going to be interviewing
some of those guys and hearing their stories directly. Uh,
We're going to be streaming the entire event, and and
the goal is to buy a new home, a bigger,
nicer home. We've we've had about a maybe for about
(14:51):
a year and a half now, we've had a waiting
list of at least four to five veterans at any
given time, and we just we just you know, this
is a process. You know, it takes you know, between
three and nine months to really you know, help this
help these guys change and transform their lives.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
And so.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
You know, we just we don't have enough space and
we haven't been able to just get them in and
out fast enough.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
You know. We we give them as.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Much time as they need typically to to transition back
into an independence, uh life.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
So this, this.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
Fundraiser is about getting involved, making this mission your mission.
It's about coming together as a community and purchasing this home.
You know, obviously five hundred thousand dollars isn't enough to
buy the house that we want. You know, this is
we're looking at eight to ten rooms with a wreck
room and a study room and and just you know,
(15:48):
amenities for them to to really collaborate, work together, feel
comfortable and show them what's possible in their lives. And
you know, in order to do you know, obviously, any
donation supports us five dollars, one thousand dollars, one hundred
thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Right, anything will help.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
The goal is to get enough to put a significant
down payment on a new home, you know, reduce the
mortgage as much as possible by putting as much down
as we can and then putting some money into our
account for operations, and you know, supporting the program for
the next.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Year or two.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
So we have a number of ways to do this. Obviously,
they can show up, help us, make calls. We're encouraging
everyone to you know, call those friends and family that
you know will support our mission and support housing homeless veterans.
We we also encourage you to go live and share
the live stream.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Mention it on the day of and share the.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
Link and get people there. Like I said, we'll be
interviewing veterans. We'll be interviewing some of the volunteers and
the coaches that are working one on one with our vets.
And there's also some naming rates opportunities as well. So
if you want to really you know, kick down and
and and be a big, big help for for this campaign.
(17:14):
Help us by naming a bedroom, help us by naming
that new movie room that we want to build, or
the game room, or even name the house right. You know,
those are the biggest ways to support. You know, it
comes with recognition and you know we'll we'll invite you
to all of our graduation events. You get to meet
the veterans that are that are supporting, that we're supporting,
(17:36):
and and it's just it's gonna be a good time.
We're gonna have pizza, we're gonna have volunteers, and the
team uh w RT Team one is going to be
present and helping and supporting. And it's part of their
ninety day growth program is to be involved and give
back to those who are giving well.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
I Andrew, I appreciate it. I put everything on the blog.
So Andrew Knelis is my guest from Houses for Warriors.
This is all happening Saturday from three to six pm,
a telethon. I was going to ask you if Cherry
Lewis was going to host, but I doubt it because
he's old and cranky.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Now.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
I also put a link to the Houses for Warriors website.
If you just want to jump right there and make
a donation, you can do that as well, or you
can participate on Saturday, or you can make a donation
big enough, or you can just give him a house
if you have an eight to ten bedroom house laying around,
don't know what to do with it. Just give Andrew
a call and say I've got a house for you.
That would be fantastic, great tax right off for you. Andrew.
(18:31):
I love what you're doing and I cannot wait to
hear about the next house that you guys at Houses
for Warriors are going to be able to open with
this money.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Well, I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
I really appreciate your time and letting me share this mission, all.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Right, Andrew Canalis, thank you so much, my friend.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Thank you. Have a good day, all right.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
That is Andrew Canalis with Houses for Warriors,
The Mandy Connell Podcast News
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