Transitional Housing Apartment Helps Army Veteran Gain Stability
Single dad and Army veteran Artaveus Grant reflects on his 13-year military career with pride. He enlisted in 2010 to defend our nation and experience life outside his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. He also aspired to earning a college degree and knew the service could provide that avenue.
In 2012, he deployed to Afghanistan and spent nine months there working as a supply specialist.
During his career, he earned six Army commendation medals and rose to the rank of staff sergeant. He accomplished the feat of being the first supply specialist in the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment to demobilize a company and transfer all its property to a sister company. It’s a job typically overseen by a higher-ranking soldier.
He achieved his goal of furthering his education, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in military science.
Physical and psychological injuries from his service disrupted Artaveus’ plan to serve until retirement.
He lives with nerve damage and back and hip injuries limit his mobility, and he works daily to manage PTSD symptoms.
After 13 years in the service, Artaveus was medically retired in the spring of 2023. Like many service members, he faced a challenging transition to civilian life after spending his entire adult life in the military.
“For 13 years I had been told what to do, where to go, and how to do it, then it was completely on me,” he said. “No matter how much you plan, you just really don’t know what (civilian life) is going to be like.”
He was especially worried as a parent about where he and his 8-year-old daughter, Aliya, would live.
“It was difficult just trying to focus and stay afloat,” Artaveus said. “I was hoping … separating wouldn’t cause more damage than I could handle.”
During an Army transition class, Artaveus learned about Operation Homefront and its Transitional Housing (Apartments) program. The program offers veterans within four years of discharge a rent- and utilities-free apartment for one year. Since 2022, the program has provided more than 190 months of free housing to military families, saving them more than $250,000 in rent and utility costs.
While living there, participants have access to employment and financial counseling to help them achieve stability and chart a path to long-term post-military success. This initiative provides a stable living environment for veterans as they adjust to civilian life, giving them a chance to focus on their goals and build a solid foundation for their future.
“Without (Operation Homefront), I wouldn’t be able to give my daughter the life she needs and wants.” – Artaveus Grant, Army veteran
Artaveus was in limbo as he waited for his VA disability rating. He and Aliyah lived with a friend for a couple of months before he applied for a Transitional Housing apartment in Columbia, Maryland.
He was surprised and relieved when an Operation Homefront representative called about a week later.
“This is one of the best things that could have happened to me,” said Artaveus, who moved into the apartment in the summer of 2023.
When he moved out a year later, he had settled into a job as a dedicated local truck driver with a national trucking company. He also had paid off about $30,000 in debt and raised his credit score 130 points.
Artaveus said managing the family budget was new to him.
“Growing up, I wasn’t privy to family finances,” he said. “In the Army, you want to use your money to enjoy the things you never had. I enjoyed it a little too much.”
Now, he’s passing the skill to Aliyah.
When she wants to buy something with money earned from doing chores, he asks if it’s something she really needs.
“I try to get her to understand the importance of being financially stable,” he said, adding proudly that Aliyah saved her allowance to decorate her room in the home he purchased in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
Artaveus describes the single-story house with rose bushes in the front, a fenced yard in the back, and a lake down the street as his dream home. Not only did his job transfer to Arkansas, he and Aliyah will have his parents and siblings close by for support.
He credits Operation Homefront and its donors for helping him establish strong, stable, and secure future as a civilian.
“I feel like a huge burden has been lifted off my back, and without you guys, I don’t know where I would be,” he said. “We have someplace to lay our heads and a career to pay for where we lay our heads. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to give my daughter the life she needs and wants.”
He had advice to share with other veterans who might wonder if the Transitional Housing (Apartments) program is too good to be true.
“The program works,” he said. “All you have to do is listen, go to the monthly meetings (with your financial counselor), and follow your budget.”
