LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A busted pipe in April forced Hope Center officials to postpone their grand opening of the Quantrell Jones Center near the Don Ball campus, but it seems to have been worth the wait.
“It’s the best place in the state. I’m so grateful,” said Emmanuel Bell, a Hope Center client and U.S. Army veteran.
Bell was chosen to speak at Wednesday's press conference because this new 72 bed facility will be reserving 32 beds exclusively for veterans like himself. In addition to shelter and meals, counseling services will also be offered as the people here work to transition their clients to more permanent housing.
“I am a firm believer that everyone has a right to live, to food, to clothing, so this new building is just an off shoot of my belief,” said Reverend Bonnie Quantrell Jones, the facility’s primary benefactor.
Bell is 69 years old and closing in on a degree from Bluegrass Community and Technical College. He said he’d be sleeping on the streets without the Hope Center’s help.
“It used to be pretty rough. Most of the time a veteran couldn't get anything. For a guy that raised his hand to serve the country, he should get a little bit,” Bell said.
The people who helped build this place, starting with a donation from the city, seem to agree.
“I am not a loser. Being homeless and trying to get yourself back together is hard, but it's fair. You have to put in the work,” Bell stated.
32 veterans will have a chance to put in that work, and get their lives back together, inside this new transitional housing center.
“It’s the heart of this town, it’s the heart of business leaders, it is the love of people of all natures, genders, ethnic groups and religions who are all created in God’s image,” Reverend Quantrell Jones said of why this mission is so important to her and her family.
