Press Contact Only:
Margaret Matrone, NCHFA, 919-877-5606,
Connie Helmlinger, NCHFA, 919-877-5607,
A groundbreaking ceremony for the W. Travis Porter Veterans Resources Center will be held at 11 a.m. on April 10 at the corner of East Carver Street and Commons Boulevard in Durham.
Porter, who passed away at the age of 76 on Nov. 6, 2007, was a Durham attorney and civic leader and former chair of the N.C. university system Board of Governors. He was instrumental in creating the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency and represented the Agency in all matters, including legislative issues. He received the Agency’s Master Builder Award in 1996 and was elected to the North Carolina Housing Hall of Fame the same year.
The Veterans Resource Center is part of a housing development serving homeless veterans and persons with disabilities, financed by the N.C. Housing Finance Agency and other groups.
A champion for issues ranging from education and housing to the needs of the underprivileged, Porter was especially supportive of veterans. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1953 to 1956, attaining the rank of captain.
Porter was an attorney for 30 years, most recently at Williams Mullen. Prior to his years on the Board of Governors, he was on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, also serving as chairman.
During the groundbreaking ceremony, the South Wilmington Street Center Veteran Honor Guard will post and retire the colors in Porter’s memory. ;
Speakers:
The Honorable Bill Bell, mayor, City of Durham (invited)
Rob Rogers, president and CEO, Volunteers of America-Carolinas
Bob Williamson, Homeless Veterans Program coordinator, Durham VA Medical Center
Lucius S. Jones, chairman, N.C. Housing Finance Agency
Date/Time:
April 10, 11:00 a.m.
Location:
Corner of East Carver St. and Commons Blvd. in North Durham
Onsite Contact:
Will Parry-Hill, 919-622-8236
The W. Travis Porter Veterans Resource Center will serve Maple Court Apartments and LIFE House of Durham.
Maple Court Apartments will provide transitional housing for homeless veterans. Services for the residents include education, employment, substance abuse and mental health treatment, health and dental care and housing counseling.
LIFE House will provide permanent housing for disabled persons, primarily those with spinal cord injuries. LIFE House will coordinate services for the residents, including counseling, physical therapy, substance abuse services, mental health services, job training, and assistance with VA benefits, Medicaid and food stamp application.
Both properties are being developed by Volunteers of America of the Carolinas with financing from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, the City of Durham, and the Community Investment Corporation of the Carolinas. Maple Court will also receive a capital grant and operating subsidy from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency is a self-supporting public agency. It has financed 184,000 affordable homes and apartments in the last three decades, including nearly 77,000 homes for first-time home buyers. To learn more, go to www.nchfa.com or call 919-877-5700 or 800-393-0988.
