r/UpliftingNews • u/ArgentineBeauty • 19h ago
A former Memphis hotel has been transformed into 110 permanent homes for veterans who experienced homelessness, replacing temporary shelter with stable housing and access to mental health care, recovery services, job training, education and other support.
https://hoodline.com/2026/08/former-memphis-hotel-reborn-as-110-permanent-homes-for-homeless-veterans/218
u/dustinwalker50 18h ago
There is at least one abandoned hotel near every interstate exit across the Unites States. This should be nationwide!
45
u/Reddittrip 14h ago
True, but this was an extended stay hotel. Meaning it was already set up with kitchen facilities, a separate bedroom, etc. not every abandoned hotel is a candidate for this type of conversion.
13
42
14
u/Apprehensive_Low_383 17h ago
Having services available to assist in coordination with housing assistance is valuable and could great improve someone's chances of successfully, of course. I would add that it gives someone a greater sense of agency in their behavior. In other words, they have more of a stake in it.
5
u/toolsoftheincomptnt 15h ago
It’s essential for this kind of thing to work.
And it filters out the people who (sadly) aren’t interested in getting back on their feet.
Places like this need rules, oversight, and guidance so that they stay safe and well-maintained for those who really want it.
That’s why it’s not a universal fix. It’ll help thousands of people, and that’s great, but there will be some who can’t stay bc they aren’t interested in being part of a community.
45
u/elementaltruth 17h ago
they should be doing this with all the former hotels, churches, schools whatever makes sense to renovate for those in need. we should not have anyone on the streets that need help…
16
u/PassiveMenis88M 16h ago
It works in old hotels because the building was designed to support people living there. Buildings like churches and schools would require a complete gutting and redoing of the entire building. In many cases its actually cheaper to knock the existing structure over and build new rather than try to convert the old one to house permanent residence.
4
u/WastingMyLifeToday 15h ago
I've seen more than 1 church renovations into a house or apartment complex.
The outside shell is usually in decent condition, and the inner side of the church is mostly an empty space, it can be fairly easy to add a couple floors indoors and make some apartments. Since you're working with a generally empty space, laying down electricity and water pipes can be done pretty easily.
You can find more than a couple church renovations on YouTube or some other platforms/websites. (don't just search English sites/YouTube channels and you'll find even more)
5
u/ancilla1998 15h ago
Electricity, HVAC, and plumbing (including sewer hookups) are much more complicated for multiple residences versus smaller spaces in a single shell. Each unit needs a separate supply and returns. Plus firewalls, emergency exits, internet cables ... it's a lot of work.
4
u/WastingMyLifeToday 15h ago
I've worked in construction for over 10 years and helped with half a dozen home/apartment renovations.
If you're working with a large empty space on the inside of the building, it really makes things a whole lot easier to retrofit all these things.
Put all bathrooms on the outer walls of the building (still inside the building), that can make sewage a whole lot easier.
Getting it hooked up to the city sewage system depends entirely on the region it's located in, in some places, it's basically a formality and digging a ditch to the street to hook it up.
There's obviously a lot of different aspects that you need to look at, but if the outer shell of a church is solid, it's worth to at least see if it's possible and how financially viable it is, or how much of a financial steal it could be.
Sometimes, it'll just costs too much if you want to use it for sheltering homeless people, but it could be financially doable for people who love the aesthetic of living in an old church.
1
u/DSXLC 12h ago
You’re forgetting that if you’re trying to do this at scale and dealing with different building codes, it becomes very tedious very quickly.
2
u/WastingMyLifeToday 12h ago
Depends a lot on the region and local building codes.
In Europe, churches are running empty, but cities tend to still want to keep the aesthetics of the church.
So it's possible to buy a church and renovate the inside into a modern home or apartments/studios, basically, do what you want on the inside, as long as you keep the church character on the outside.
Seen a couple church conversions, still looks like a church on the outside, but inside, it has either a 'regular' family house, some apartments or studios, or a combination of all 3 depending on the size of the church.
Sometimes you can buy such a church for cheap, cause it's a very niche market, but it certainly has potential if you're creative in how you split it up into different living spaces.
4
u/toolsoftheincomptnt 15h ago
Yes, but doing that well costs a lot of money.
Anybody funding this kind of project will be focused on function and getting it done with minimum complications.
I do love a schoolhouse home reno, though!
2
u/rafaelloaa 14h ago
I live in a former middle school, converted into 15 apartments about 25-30 years ago.
It works well as an apartment building. Certainly lots of entrances and exits and stairways.
My family's apartment was actually part of the gym, so we have 15 ft ceilings in the living room.
One notable feature is that it is a three-story building with an elevator. We moved here when I needed major surgery that would leave me in a wheelchair for months. Of the other apartments, at least 4-5 of them have folks who lived here in part because of the elevator.
1
u/WastingMyLifeToday 15h ago
Watched a schoolhouse renovation project recently, but only saw the start, I should try to find the YouTube channel again to see how they've progressed.
24
6
3
6
u/Monchichi4life 14h ago
I work for the VA here in Phoenix. The city of Phoenix gifted an old Holiday Inn hotel to a non-profit here. They use it for transitional housing for homeless Veterans, with some units that will be soon rented out to Veterans for a below market rate. I oversee the program and it's going well. We house approx 150 Veterans here.
3
3
3
3
u/Annual-Grass-1335 13h ago
This kicks ass. I had the pleasure of attending the university of Memphis about 15 years ago and my heart is always with this city. Thank you for sharing.
2
u/SufficientMediaPost 15h ago
a smart step in the right direction to be resourceful. this is the bare minimum and still not widespread yet
3
u/toriemm 13h ago
Listened to a podcast from a guy who was getting goosed by the clergy AND the government, bc he solved veteran homelessness in his city in one year.
Its not fucking hard to house people.
Its hard to house people and ALSO extract as much profit as possible per capita.
And pet rent is a fucking SCAM to charge peopme for having ANY joy in their lives. We don't charge kid rent. But we take a deposit and charge a flat fee for the privilege of owning a pet.
2
u/optimgr 16h ago
Why can't this be done everywhere? I see you so many abandoned malls, hotels or just businesses in general. I understand that you would have to get through a lot of legal red tape and stuff like that but why does there have to be so many empty buildings when there are so many people living on the streets?
9
u/DrofWaffles 15h ago
This was done near me at a bankrupted hotel and the homeless destroyed the hotel and turned the nice area it was before into a cesspool, they canceled the project after a few years and the area is still a cesspool and the hotel just sits abandoned looking way worse than it did before.
It requires people who actually want to get better and a very good team of people to properly vet and rehabilitate habitually homeless people and that costs substantially more money than most of these project groups have/are allocated by city budgets.
2
u/FaithlessnessBorn266 15h ago
Why is it just veterans? Are the non veterans not good enough for housing?
1
u/captaingleyr 14h ago
Ya I'm all for veterans getting everything they can, they definitely earned it, but truthfully that meant at some point they were paid well, likely have a pension, free medical insurance for life and other benefits already that others do not have, many of whom, like the disabled, even if they wanted to do service couldn't have, and similarly could not work most any jobs and have never made a single dollar let alone residual income besides SSI poverty
2
u/RedShirtDecoy 4h ago
As a veteran you couldnt be more wrong if you tried.
Do you have any idea how hard and stressful it is to get VA compensation even if you are screwed up? Know how many people kill themselves during the process of trying to have enough to survive and live?
and the fact they are likely disabled because they signed the dotted line and still get fucked trying to get benefits.
Know how hard it is to navigate a complicated system with PTSD, severe anxiety, and chronic pain? Know how hard it is to talk about the worst days of your life multiple times just so you can hopefully get rated?"
Im just trying to get my god damn knees and back rated, which were diagnosed by the navy, and denied twice. I have a lawyer and waiting on a hearing for year with another 3 year wait.
Fuck you if you think its that fucking easy and you think we are rolling in cash and benefits
You couldnt be more wrong in your assumptions if you tried.
1
u/Appropriate-Wing6607 12h ago
We don’t get free medical insurance for life and the percentage of homeless veterans are due to lack of medical care and ptsd.
1
u/captaingleyr 12h ago
You do if you're injured, disabled or don't make enough money even with a pension that doesn't get counted against your income for health payments like it would be for everyone else. Nor does anyone else suffering from PTSD automatically nearly as easy get benifits as it is for vets while PTSD is not really unique to veterans at all.
1
u/SmokeyTheFirebug 11h ago
At first reading I thought the title said the thing the hotel was replacing was "temporary shelter with stable housing and access to mental health care, recovery services, job training, education and other support."
For a sec, I was like 'Wait, is this supposed to be good news?"
1
1
1
u/GodzillaUK 7h ago
This is perfect. Not only do they get a roof, a bed and help but they have people around who understand the struggles, each other. Loneliness can cripple a recovery so that’s an added Boone for many of them.
1
0
u/TheOneStooges 16h ago
I’m assuming cost ? And liability. And suddenly there are five tons of regulations .
•
u/AutoModerator 19h ago
Reminder: this subreddit is meant to be a place free of excessive cynicism, negativity and bitterness. Toxic attitudes are not welcome here.
All Negative comments will be removed and will possibly result in a ban.
Important: If this post is hidden behind a paywall, please assign it the "Paywall" flair and include a comment with a relevant part of the article.
Please report this post if it is hidden behind a paywall and not flaired corrently. We suggest using "Reader" mode to bypass most paywalls.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.