Walkthrough imagined

VETERANch Walkthrough

(VETERANch is a veteran’s PTS equine and animal assisted therapy ranch, maintained and managed by 153 homeless veterans on 500+ acres in SW Montana. Only 130 of those acres encompass a circular patterned, green energy utilizing, self-sustaining therapy ranch and homeless veteran community. The rest of the acreage will be utilized for recreational and therapeutic activities) As you drive off the highway and up the drive leading to the front gate you will pass under the VETERANch sign designed in the old west style, branding iron font, with the horse head. The first thing you drive up to are the multi spot parking area at the front gate security and welcome center, this is where you will check in and be given the directions to the community center front desk but if you drove the long way around VETERANch following the circle roadway, to the and on the right, you will find twenty-nine, 20X20 whole size single units that the supervisors of each section live in. These whole size units give the veterans more room and rewards them for the extra responsibilities that they take on as the section supervisor and to the left side are sixty-four, 20X20 duplexes that are side by side, 10X20 mini, homed veteran’s units. (Supervisor units, 10X12 living room with entertainment center and kitchenette with mini fridge, sink and microwave/convection oven, 10X8 bathroom with full size tub, toilet, sink and vanity, 10X8 single room with full size captain bed, end table cabinet and closet and 10X12 master bedroom with full or twin captain beds, end table cabinet and closet) ( Duplex units, 10X12 studio type living /sleeping area with full captain bed or family style, bunk and twin captain beds, entertainment set-up, kitchenette with mini fridge, sink, microwave/convection oven and 10X8 bathroom with full size tub, toilet, sink and vanity) After every fifth supervisor’s unit on the right side, will be our 38X40, visiting family and volunteer teaching and professionals’ units. The plans on the set-up of VETERANch depends on where the moving water source that we are looking for in a property is located. The width and location of the water source is how the halves of VETERANch is set up, and for this walkthrough we are putting the equine and animal therapy on the right half of VETERANch. As you get back to the front gate you turn up left, straight towards the community center, passing the flags of the military branches in the order of inception and heads up to a U.S. Flag. As you make the next right turn, you follow the split rail bordering fence that contains the horses, free ranging chickens and other animals making their home at VETERANch. Halfway around the road on the right side will be the 100X50 drive through barn with attached training and therapy corral, nine 12X12 equine stalls, veterinarian exam, equine wash, feed storage stalls and upstairs there is nine 10X20 barndominum units for the PTS veterans staying onsite. (They are set up like a single homed veteran duplex unit with door placement as the only noticeable difference) Within the split rail area is the full-size chicken house/coop that can house two hundred (numbered and tracked) chickens of various egg laying breeds with multi shelved brooding closets. During daylight hours the hens will be free ranging and at night they will be resting or sleeping in their coop.

As you pass the top half of the community center you will cross into the plant growing and farming half of VETERANch. The next building on the right is a 60X60, worship and meditation center with office, baptismal and visiting pastoral sleeping quarters. (The center can be used by all faiths and new age spiritual veterans who would like to have services scheduled for their faith) The next building is the 100X100 greenhouse that is partially above the attached aquaponics pond with fish that help fertilize the greenhouse growth. Different edible fruits trees, bushes, crops, seedling and flowers seen throughout VETERANch start in the greenhouse. The moving water source on the property will feed into and control the depth of the aquaponics pond and irrigate the crops. Veterans have said gardening is therapeutic and the plan is to increase the size of the greenhouse as more veterans get involved in the gardening and greening of their units and VETERANch.

Once you have been all the way around VETERANch and are back at the front of the community center you can park in the parking area and enter the front doors of the community center. The 60000 square foot community center comprised of four buildings surrounding the courtyard, firepit and outside seated entertainment area. When you come in the front doors, you will be in the welcome and information center where you can be seated in the waiting area or be directed to the area you are looking for and assigned a guide if needed. On the right is administration, where in/out processing (for PTS and homeless veterans or volunteer instructors and assigned a guide to assist you and give you a tour), VA liaison and appointment scheduling, bookkeeping and scheduling of work and advisors training or teaching veterans. Back out to waiting and on the left side of the front doors is the general and assistant managers offices with bathroom. Back out to the waiting area and through the two doorways behind the welcome desk is the thirty-six table, cafeteria/restaurant. (set up for overlapping shifts that will feed the approximately one hundred sixty veterans and guests, three meals per day. Every veteran gets scheduled for a KP week, once a year) The kitchen will be set up with the appliances, preparation stations, pantry and walk in cold/freeze storage as a city restaurant of equal size. The seating and bar top eating area will have televisions for the veterans that would like to watch news and sports entertainment while they eat. (The café will also be open in between meals to veterans working on a laptop for researching or networking) As you move out of the eating area you have the multi-stall bathrooms on either side of the corridor, and this is where you come to the different entertainment rooms. The ones on the sides closest to the cafeteria/restaurant are for infotainment and gaming you might find at a sports bar/restaurant. Physical gaming room for billiards, darts or foosball and on the opposite side will be the sports televisions for different games going on. In the room closest to the courtyard will be the e-gaming room with multiple screens for a few simulation type, XBOX and Playstation console gaming stations. One room will be for headline news and weather televisions, but this may change based on whether the news becomes less divisive, a movies room and a television series room. (All these entertainment rooms will have the appropriate of furniture based on the rooms) As you leave the rooms and go towards the courtyard you come to four rows of theater seating with handicap access for wheelchair or scooter spots. (This seating/sound with second deck seating is available for when the weather dictates better enjoyment of the courtyard movie from behind the Lexan) Once you pass through the double doors you will be passing into the courtyard.

The courtyard is 100X100 square with a six-foot wide wheelchair and mobility assistance device walkway around the grass covered courtyard. The firepit is approximately sixty feet from the doors with a gradual slope from the walkway. (1:12 degree manicured slope for the mobility impaired veterans to enjoy the warmth and camaraderie around the deck of brick and block circular pattered firepit) We will have outdoor furniture in the open and areas for veterans who may want or have a need to be more reclined while they are watching the movie and games on the projection screen. The six-foot-wide stage area in front of the screen is for when we are giving announcements and presentations for veterans. On the projection screen wall, to the far left, is the door that leads into the top wing and right as you enter that section you come to the bathrooms that are the closest to the courtyard. Just past the courtyard bathrooms you walk in the open section of merchandising. (Equipment used in the merchandising may include various screen-printing devices) The merchandise design, research and order office beside the supervisor office are against the courtyard entrance wall and a shipping/receiving and mail office in that wall corner. Across from the merchandising section are the maintenance sections for VETERANch. They are the electrical or green energy, water/sewer or plumbing, painting or general contracting section and cable, satellite and wi-fi sections. The maintenance planning and supervisor’s office is attached to the section. The landscaping section, located beside maintenance, consists of the mow, trim/edge, weeding and planting scheduling supervisor office. Now as you head back out and into the courtyard, passing the first door on the right and entering the next or into the left wing of the community center. In this area we are in the visiting medical and dental clinics. The clinics mimic each other, so what you see on the right, is the same on the left. First you walk in the hallway and see the waiting areas and reception desk. Just past the reception is the supply closets and at the end of the hallway is the storage closet. As you turn right or left, you come to two exam rooms on the back wall. At the end of the short hallway is the doctor’s or dentist’s office. Head back out to the courtyard and walk back to the door you first walked by to go into the second door. As you walk into this door you will notice a door on the right that leads you into the laundry room (Ten washer and dryer units with two of each for the oversize loads along with fold tabletops). When you walk back into the hall and walk diagonal into the morale, recreational equipment and library (DVD, CD, Books, Sports Equipment). The desk area is located right near the door for the section for checkout of items and equipment in the section. The CD, DVD, book shelving is throughout the section with library desks, couches and chairs for doing resumes and research on laptops. An equipment storage room and single bathroom finish up the section. Back out into the hallway and turning away from the door that leads back to the courtyard and you will walk straight into the security and monitoring section. Safety, security, perimeter, wildlife and fire control are the main things being monitored but we want to stop any potential problems quickly. Beside the monitoring room is the fire control and first aid station with a locker room and fire equipment storage. A garage for safety and fire control vehicles. (Everyone at VETERANch will be given a refresher in basic first aid and trained in fire control so that we are able to keep veterans and animals here safe) Across from that section is the rest rooms for the wing. To the right as you leave those sections you will get to the entertainment and scheduling section. Radio will be broadcast on site and on the internet. Video, editing, production and scheduling have small work offices and the management section and entertainment scheduler for audio/visual on VETERANch will be in the bigger offices. (Eventually we will be scheduling a veterans movie night for offsite veterans to visit and enjoy a new release movie) Turn around and follow the hallway back to the courtyard and walk across to the opposite side and into the right wing of the community center. This is the fabrication and automotive section. The wide open is to be able to work on bigger fabrication and hobby projects if needed. If you turn to the right, you will see the wood and combination wood/metal work machines, sanders and presses and restrooms. Across to the other side is the precision wood or metal work workbenches and machines. The design and research offices are against this wall with another smaller set of restrooms. The supervisor and scheduling office in the corner of the section. The pair of doors that lead into the automotive   section have a couple storage rooms beside them for each of the main sections. Inside the auto section are the lifts, pits and tools you find at an auto repair garage. There are ten lanes for maintaining VETERANch vehicles or mechanics can do maintenance to veteran’s personal vehicles that need repair. (Veterans can also do their own repair work to personal vehicles after hours) The scheduling and maintenance section office is in the corner leading out of the auto repair bays. This is the end of the tour or walkthrough of VETERANch facilities.