SC’s first-ever transitional home for female vets to open in Spartanburg

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – South Carolina’s first-ever transitional home for homeless female veterans will soon be opening in Spartanburg.

“It’s time to help all of our homeless. It is time to stop handing them a few cents on the corner or a meal here and there at Thanksgiving,” Travelle Moseley said. “It is time to get our people off of the streets–especially in this city.”

Travelle Moseley with Operation Rehabilitation is behind the project and told 7 News there are more homeless women in Spartanburg than we might think. In fact, she says 40% of our homeless population are women.

“We know the challenges that women face being homeless, and we know that we are more susceptible to things that men are sometimes not as susceptible to,” Moseley said.

Sadly, she said, many of those women are veterans.

“I know about 25 people who are homeless women veterans,” she said.

And, because of all they’ve done for us, she believes it’s especially important to give back. That’s why she and her team have dedicated a transitional home to female veterans. It’s the first of its kind in the state.

“They’ve served our country and have given so much to our country, and they don’t have anything now. We have to be able to help these women, specifically,” she said.

A lot of times, Moseley said, being homeless is out of their control.

“They’ve gone in at maybe 18 years old and they’ve had a full career in the military. Then, they retire, and they don’t know how to transition to civilian life,” she said.

Moseley said the women can stay in the home for up to 24 months and, while they’re there, they’ll get extra help.

“Whether it’s connecting with the VA, or getting a job, or getting their benefits, or medical care, counseling services, financial literacy, budget counseling–whatever it is that they need,” she said.

The organization’s goal is to provide the women with the tools they’ll need to get back on their feet.

“To see them have this inner joy and this inner peace and be able to be contributors to society,” Moseley said. “It’s very rewarding to see someone come in with nothing or very little and be able to, at the end, buy their own home. That is the best experience ever to have in life.”

The home on St. Andrews Street will officially open on Monday, February 1.

Operation Rehabilitation has four other transitional homes in our community, and they told 7 News they’ve had a 100% success rate when it comes to getting homeless people into their own homes.

If you would like to donate or learn more about the organization, click here.