APPLETON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Veterans Village in Appleton is looking to expand in the next few years. For now, they continue to impact those who live there.

In the new expansion there will be a new facility with 39 beds for 55-year-olds and up. It will have underground parking and elevators. They are also planning on building an “Honor Home” that will be 10 beds and a hospice center for veterans. Their goal it to have the project completed by 2025.

In the past two years, the veteran village in Appleton has been providing homes and a sense of camaraderie for the veterans who live there.

Just six months ago, veteran Tom Barnes moved in to his apartment at the veteran village in Appleton. He has been able to make it feel like home in a short amount of time.

“This apartment has been wonderful for me,” Barnes said.

Barnes said he is able to live an accessible life and has the ability to do most things on his own and it feels good to have a place of his own.

“It’s nice having a place to call your own,” Barnes said. “A place where you can feel comfortable and cared for and cared about.”

For Barnes, it’s been nice to have a place where he can be independent after multiple hip surgeries and be with other veterans at the same time. He says it provides comfort and a sense of ease knowing he is around others who have a similar background to him.

It’s a feeling of accomplishment, one that Army veteran Larry Poole shares as well.

“It’s always good to have resources, housing, hospital, health care, all kinds of resources to help veterans out,” Poole said. “Veterans are everywhere, no matter what state.”

While Poole said he’s only been living here for three months so far, but he’s already felt the impact it’s made on him in just a short amount of time, like being able to save money.

“It gives me a lot of motivation for me to work on getting myself a bigger and better place to invest my time and money,” Poole said.

It’s an impact the veteran village is hoping to expand on, with more apartments and hospice care being built on the property. While that is still a few years away, the greatest reward these veterans see now is a community that cares and provides for those who have served.