GM's Veterans Affinity Group donates to new veterans facility

Members from General Motors’ Veterans Affinity Group Customer Care and Aftersales Chapter present Piquette Square, 6221 Brush St., Detroit, with a $5,000 donation to help cover costs for the veterans living there. Photo provided GRAND BLANC — Onehundred and fifty veterans in Detroit will find life after war a little less stressful as General Motors’ Veterans Affinity Group (VAG) Customer Care and Aftersales Chapter donated money to the new veteran housing facility, Piquette Square.

On Sept. 29, VAG Customer Care and Aftersales Chapter located in Grand Blanc presented Piquette Square — a fourstory facility consisting of 150 one-bedroom units and 11,000 square feet of common area and commercial space — with a $5,000 donation to help with costs associated with helping the veterans.

In June, the first group of veterans moved into Piquette Square. Aside from providing housing, Piquette Square also offers mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, on-site job training, computer labs, educational programs and other support services to help veterans form healthy and independent living skills.

“The thought that American soldiers are returning from war with no place to call home is unconscionable,” said Don Gore, president of the VAG Customer Care and Aftersales Chapter.

“Our group’s overriding objective is to take care of the military men and women who take care of us, so Piquette Square is a good fit for us ideologically.”

Currently, there is an estimated 4,000 homeless veterans in the Detroit area. It is the hope of both Piquette Square and VAG Customer Care and Aftersales to be able to help out each and every veteran.

“Piquette Square is an important piece of major collaborative commitment to address the growing problem of homeless veterans in metropolitan Detroit,” Executive Director of Southwest Housing Solutions Tim Thorland said.

“This donation will help provide services to the 150 formerly homeless veterans living in Piquette Square.”

VAG Customer Care and Aftersales hosts various fundraising activities to help support for both GM employees who are U.S. Military Veterans, in the Reserves or National Guard and non-GM employees who are members of the armed services.

For more information and a list of needed donations go to www.swsol.org/piquette_square.