YOUNGSTOWN - After delays, the Veteran's Haven facility in south Youngstown is scheduled to open in the spring of 2026 to temporarily house homeless veterans and help them find permanent housing. The building will be located at the intersection of Hillman Street and W. Warren Ave.

Brandi Parker, assistant director of Outreach Services at Axess Family Services, says the project was delayed due to an increase in the price of materials and a delay of construction schedules. 

"The reason the process is really slow is because we are utilizing something new to our community, new to our area, and that is the shipping containers," she said.

The shipping containers will be part of the building's infrastructure. They will house 14 homeless veterans at a time after plumbing, heating, and other amenities are added.

The containers were delivered to the construction site last month.

The project broke ground in late 2023 with a budget of around $1 million. Funds came from Veterans' Affairs capital grants, Mahoning County Commissioners, Youngstown City Ward 1, and community support. The inflation of material prices brought the cost to $1.7 million.

"We had to come back to the table and redesign our project so it would assist us in ensuring we were in scale," Parker said.

After budget cuts, the cost came down to $1.2 million.