SALISBURY — Rowan Helping Ministries held a dedication of their new Eagles Nest III transitional housing units. During the dedication, attendees could tour the new apartments and two people were honored for their work in making the project possible.

There are 12 housing units in total, and nine of those have been earmarked for homeless veterans. Kyna Grubb, executive director of RHM, said that one of the benefits of the new units will be allowing married veterans to stay in the same place as their spouse. The homeless shelter located in RHM’s Robertson-Stanback Center requires people staying there to sleep in separate female and male areas.

“These apartments are designed so that veterans and their spouses would not be separated, but able to heal and support each other on their pathway home. There’s a story over here about Randy and Gale that were in our shelter. Just imagine if she had been able to be there as his partner, helping him be successful. How much more quickly they could have moved to success,” said Grubb.

The fundraising was kicked off with a $400,000 grant from Veterans Affairs, said Raeshawn Palmer, director of community relations for RHM. The rest of the money for the “Miracle on the Horizon,” as the project was called, was raised from donors, grants and foundations. In 2022, RHM estimated that they would need $5,600,000 for the project.

One of the buildings was donated by the R.V. Miller family. Chris Bradshaw, a member of RHM’s board of directors, said that the organization is working to place a Miller Produce sign on the building to commemorate the donation and the building’s history.

One of the buildings was named after Bradshaw during the dedication. Grubb said that when volunteers reached out to donors, being able to honor Bradshaw made for an easy sell.

“When Wink Cline reached out to donors to support ‘Miracles on the Horizon,’ he used one hook. Join me in honoring a friend who has done so much to ensure homeless individuals in our community have a pathway to stable housing. Wink told me this was the easiest fundraising he had ever done,” said Grubb.

The other building was named after David Jordan. Jordan has been involved with RHM since the beginning of the organization. His wife, Jeannie, was the person who founded the soup kitchen in the basement of First Presbyterian Church. That soup kitchen was part of the original iteration of RHM, which rotated their shelter around the basement of several local churches. Jordan was the chair of the fundraising committee for the “Miracles on the Horizon.”

Bradshaw said that the new buildings will have solar panels to provide power, which will allow the organization to save money on power bills that can then be put to help supporting other programs. They will also be equipped with security cameras.

Along with the 12 apartments, the new buildings will also house administrative offices, a peer-support room and a laundry room. Grubb said that RHM plans to eventually move all of their administrative offices in, which will free up room in the Robertson-Stanback building for a full-time medical clinic and mental-health services. Currently, Cabarrus-Rowan Community Health Centers provides those services on a part-time basis.