35 miles east of downtown Ocala, Florida, is a Veterans homestead which was established in October of 1991. Known as Veterans Village, the guiding principle of the place is to provide affordable, independent living accommodations to Veterans and their families. To qualify for residency, one must be an honorably discharged Veteran with a DD-214, a spouse of a qualified Veteran, men and women who qualify for membership in the VFW Auxiliary and the widows of veterans.

The little town is located in Fort McCoy, Florida and is a non-profit veteran’s organization owned and operated by the VFW Department of Florida which is located in Ocala. It is the only facility of its kind anywhere in the world that is not subsidized by any federal, state or local agencies. The daily cost of operations is met by 75% rent income and the other 25% is from donations and fundraisers.

The VA Florida State Commander, Mac McLucas made a recent visit and noted there were many problems surmounting the village and has undertaken the restoration as his main project to raise funds for refurbishing the entire place, correct staff problems, make certain the canteen is serving the proper 3 meals a day and to ascertain all areas are no longer in total disarray and kept up in cleanliness.

There are 6 wings of the village. 5 are named for the military branches and the 6th is to honor the women who have served in the military. In many places for Veterans, once the Veteran passes away, the family is no longer eligible to stay, but in the Veterans Village, this is not the case. The capacity of the Village is 20-70 rooms and right now, not all of them are occupied, due to some of the afore mentioned conditions.

Here at the VFW Post 4174 in Lehigh Acres, we are going to sponsor several fundraisers to assist our State Commander in his endeavors to bring the village back to original conditions which were established in the very beginning. We will be informing everyone of the various fundraisers and are asking everyone, even non members to assist us in supporting this worthwhile endeavor. After all, all Veterans supported our country when we needed them.

Stop in at 25 S. Homestead any time and ask about the Veterans Village and how you can help. You’ll be glad you did!