CINCINNATI — A group that helps military veterans recovering from addiction is building a new shelter. For the first time, their crews are making space for not just men, but women and disabled veterans. 

What You Need To Know

  • Joseph House helps provide shelter and treatment for military veterans recovering from addiction in Cincinnati 

  • Organizers say the old building only had enough space for about 40 former military men in treatment

  • The new multi-million dollar building in Cincinnati is expected to hold close to 60 and have more space for women and disabled veterans 
  • The new building is expected to open next year

When Don Lionberger walked in to the old building, he said he was a homeless army veteran with nowhere else to turn.

“I had a drinking problem. I got a bad hip, so I was addicted to opiates,” said Lionberger. “It was a continuous cycle of that and I’m getting older and I couldn’t do it anymore.”

He says it all changed while he was at Joseph House, a shelter in Cincinnati for military veteran men recovering from addiction.

“I guess that’s how you get you started coming in the door and you start working on your future, or you can walk back out the door and right down the street sell stuff you’re trying to get away from… and then it kind of makes sense to me,” said Lionberger.

He went through the treatment program and a year later, he’s taking a much different walk through the construction site of a bigger shelter that’ll help more military veterans, except this one won’t be only for men.

“As a female veteran myself, when I walked into the Joseph House, I recognized that there weren’t female veterans for one and it was all males that were receiving services, one of the areas that I noticed was that the makeup of the building also didn’t allow for individuals who had severe mobility issues,” said Alicia Patterson, Joseph House executive director.

She said the new building in Cincinnati will have three floors for almost 60 men and women veterans and be more accessible for veterans with physical and mental disabilities.

The new multi-million dollar building that’ll be called ‘New Horizons’ is expected to open next year. 

Lionberger will help to get veterans there. He now works at Joseph House. He’s in charge of transportation for recovering veterans like him.

“I had to learn to put my past down and go on and look at the future and I can only do that one day at a time,” said Lionberger. 

For more information on Joseph House, click here.

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