Somerset's Garrett honored at groundbreaking for Habitat for Humanity Veterans Village

Christopher Harris, Commonwealth Journal, Somerset, Ky.
Updated ·4 min read

Apr. 13—"As it turns out, it takes a village to build a village."

Those were the words of Jon Roberts, Habitat for Humanity of Pulaski County, Ky., board member and Veterans Task Force head, at a ceremonial groundbreaking for a special new project on Saturday — one that honors a veteran of this community's past by taking care of the veterans of its present.

A Veterans Village, which is set to provide three cottages for those who have served in this nation's Armed Forces and don't have a comfortable place to live available, will be built on a grassy lot facing Bourne Avenue, property donated by the City of Somerset.

The project will be named after a notable figure in Somerset's past. Louis Garrett was known in the community for many years as an expert tailor before he passed away in 2005, but he was also a U.S. veteran. After graduating Dunbar High School in 1941 as Salutatorian of his class, Garrett joined the U.S. Army and was a 1st Sergeant in the 9th and 27th Horse Cavalry. He was part of the group known as the "Buffalo Soldiers," a nickname associated with African-American cavalry soldiers that originated in the Civil War.

"A very important component of Veterans Build (a Habitat for Humanity program focused on veterans) is making sure that we honor service and sacrifice, that we honor veterans," said Roberts. "... We knew that we wanted to honor a veteran from our community. We knew that we wanted to dedicate this project to someone deserving."

Habitat's team learned about Garrett when researching another earlier Buffalo Soldier from the area, Brent Woods. Roberts read up on Garrett and "felt as if (he) was meeting an old friend."

The next step was to reach out to Garrett's family, and in speaking to another notable member of Somerset's African-American community, Dr. Elaine Wilson, to try to reach them, Roberts learned that Garrett lived very near where the Veterans Village would be built.

"I don't believe in coincidences, and that's when the divine compass went off and I knew that we were on the right track," said Roberts.

Local Habitat for Humanity board member Kristi Phillips said that Roberts came to the board with the idea for the Veterans Village, and they "jumped at the chance" to make it a reality.

My personal opinion (is that) there should never be a veteran without a home, period," said Phillips. "I don't care where it's at, what the circumstances (might be). As a society, we need to do better, and we're going to do better starting here."

Roberts said that there is "a huge population of veterans in our county that are at risk of becoming homeless because they're at risk of being priced out of the housing market," often relying on VA (Veterans Affairs) disability checks as their primary source of income.

Additionally, "there are a lot of veterans who have housing that's not suitable," said Roberts. "They struggle with infrastructure, whether it be indoor plumbing or electricity, things we take for granted like climate control. ... They have holes in their roofs. They have holes in their floor.

"There's a huge population of veterans that are stuck in these situations because they can't afford to fix the home they live in, or they can't afford the rent to move somewhere else," he added. "That's what we really want to work on. That is what the Veterans Build initiative is all about."

Garrett's wife Maxine was present at the event along with many other members of Garrett's surviving family, and was presented by Somerset Mayor Alan Keck with the American flag flown in his honor along with a sign bearing his name welcoming others to the "Louis D. Garrett Village." The family members also lined up to participate in the official groundbreaking.

"I think today is a wonderful day, and my husband wouldn't have missed it for the world," said Maxine Garrett, speaking to the Commonwealth Journal. "... It is a very big honor."

Bill Garrett, son of Maxine and Louis, was also pleased with what he witnessed on Saturday.

"Anything that has to do with veterans, to help them out, is great," he said. "... (Louis Garrett) was all about veterans."

Field of Honor, an organization that makes available American flag kits and provides flag displays, also set a number of them at the top of the dig site facing Bourne Avenue. Field of Honor is putting proceeds this year toward supporting the Veterans Village project.

Applications are now open for veterans interested in the opportunity for one of the Veterans Village cottages. They can visit www.pulaskikyhabitat.org or the "Pulaski KY Habitat for Humanity" Facebook page to learn more.

"I take for granted (that) I have a home to go home to every night," said Phillips. "That's a precious gift to give to somebody. And the fact that we ... will be able to give it to three different veterans ... that's huge."