Students Jon Rowles and Jeremiah Sanders paint the side of the eighth house in a volunteering event Sept. 16. Courtesy of Jon Rowles
By Dylan Hart
The Student Veterans Organization will break out its paint brushes and garbage bags Oct. 21 for its veterans housing project.
SVO will partner with the Harborside Activities Board and the Office of Multicultural Affairs to volunteer its assistance to the Heaven on Earth for Veterans charity, which converts dilapidated houses in St. Petersburg into affordable living spaces for veterans.
This is the second event SVO has hosted this semester with HOEV. The club also fixed up houses for HOEV Sept. 16.
HOEV began in March 2013 and aimed to address the veteran homelessness problem in St. Petersburg — an issue dating as far back in the U.S. as WWI.
Jon Rowles, president of SVO, praised the work of HOEV.
“When you get out of the military, it is incredibly hard to trust people,” he said. “You’re coming from an atmosphere where you know you can trust the people next to you. And now, when you come out to this civilian world, you realize you’re all alone. I don’t care who you are — that messes with you.”
Rowles, who enrolled at USF St. Petersburg in summer 2016 after leaving the U.S. Navy, first learned about HOEV through his friendship with the organizers.
“They went into the south side and bought up a bunch of houses, eight to be exact, and now they fix them up past the level where they would be okay living in it,” Rowles said. “I’ve been inside every one now, and they’re really nice houses.”
SVO spent Sept. 16 pressure washing, painting and clearing yard debris for the veterans’ houses, assisting many elderly veterans who fought in Korea and Vietnam.
Rowles said HOEV’s ninth house, where SVO will volunteer on Oct. 21, will house four student veterans from USF St. Petersburg upon its completion at the end of October. Veterans in the city can rent bedrooms through HOEV for between $400 and $600 per month, with utilities and cable included.
After two semesters without direction or a guiding hand, Rowles realized his purpose through SVO and the community projects in which it participates.
“You lose purpose when you get out of the military, and now I’ve found my purpose again and it feels good,” he said. “Now, every day I wake up and I’m either lobbying for veterans, doing good things for them, investing in their futures… I get to do the best job ever.”
The Student Veterans Organization is seeking volunteers to assist with renovations on the ninth house owned by Heaven on Earth for Veterans in south St. Petersburg on Sunday, Oct. 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.
Students can RSVP on Petesync at https://orgsync.com/122757/events/2529088/occurrences/6096334
