Clay County's first permanent supportive housing for veterans has opened in this classic home in Green Cove Springs. | Operation Lifeline Inc.
Published on May 8, 2025 at 2:55 pm
Free local news and info, in your inbox at 6 a.m. M-F. Sign up for the Jacksonville Today newsletter.
A classic country home on Spring Street in Green Cove Springs has a picket fence in front of its gabled facade. But no family lives there now.
Instead, the home became Clay County’s first permanent supportive housing residence for veterans on Thursday through the work of Operation Lifeline Inc.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
The new home has room for five military veterans, with support services, said Operation Lifeline Executive Director Erick Saks.
“This is a fantastic program,” Saks said. “What we all kind of know as the solution for homelessness is not just putting a roof over someone head. You need the full continuum. You need the roof, but you also need the other supportive services, and that is what this house will provide.”
One new resident is Ken Herda, age 80. A U.S. Navy veteran who served on the USS Forrestal aircraft carrier, he said he “thought I was done” after spending two cold months living in his car. Then he was placed at this home, where he can stay as long as he needs it.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
“I feel pretty good about it. I was there visiting it yesterday and picked out a room, a bottom-floor room that is nicely furnished, and the place really looks great,” Herda said. “My heart goes out to these people because they have really done me a lot of good. They fixed my car for me after it broke down. “
Operation Lifeline is a veteran-led nonprofit based in Northeast Florida, founded in 2022 by Saks. The organization provides free home rehabilitation services and gives service members retiring from service training in carpentry, construction management and nonprofit leadership.
“We have gone into houses where they are missing some of the basic core necessities — running water, HVAC, a roof that doesn’t leak,” he said. “We were able to do several rehabs under that program and basically change some people’s lives at no cost to them, and keep them in their houses, which is the ultimate goal.”
Recent projects included volunteers repairing a veteran’s home in St. Augustine and building a new roof and a ramp for a veteran in Hastings. The group also is building Lifeline Landing, a five-home subdivision in Clay County for veterans.
Saks said the Green Cove home was built in the 1890s for a local priest. It was moved in 1950 to its current site on Spring Street, just a few blocks east of U.S. 17. It was the private home for the Fitzsimmons family until they sold it a few years ago.
Saks decided the empty home was the right place for their first homeless veterans program. Working with the Housing Finance Authority of Clay County, they bought it in January for $245,000.
Now the renovated home has five private bedrooms. Residents have access to federal programs like the Supportive Services for Veteran Families and another that combines housing assistance with wraparound case management.
“They will be able to spend as much time as they need here as they are transitioning from homelessness, or the verge of homelessness, to being a productive member of society,” Saks said. “We will be able to provide everything from mental, physical health and job counseling. Everybody who comes through will have a mentor that is making regular checkups with them.”
This reuse thrills Susan Fitzsimmons, whose family owned the home.
“It’s incredibly meaningful to our family that the space where we shared so many joyful memories will now offer comfort, dignity and a fresh start to those who have served,” Fitzsimmons said in a news release.
Saks said the new residents — two so far — have to live with rules laid down by Operation Lifeline and Operation Barnabas Inc., a nonprofit ministry in Orange Park that assists veterans and first responders and finds those who fit this home program.
“That is how we are able to control the veterans who are coming in here, to make sure they are a good fit,” Saks said. “One bad apple can ruin the bunch, so we want to make sure we have the right mix here, that someone is ready for what we are giving them because after this, the next step is hopefully to get them on their own and get to a place where they can pay for a house or apartment.”
The home was renovated with the help of volunteers rounded up by the Guild Mortgage Co. Sherwin-Williams donated paint and crews to redo the interior. Mattresses, towels, toiletries and furniture were also donated, as was cleanup.
The home still needs some work, such as an updated air conditioning system and new roof, Saks said.
