Veterans program gets new headquarters closer to Johnstown

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ) — The Veterans Leadership Program , which helps connect veterans to resources, is moving its headquarters a little closer to Johnstown.

“Veteran Leadership Program has helped me go from very low in my life, from rock bottom essentially back up to on my feet, job, house, food, like I can manage my day. I can manage my life again,” Johnny Vee, a U.S. Army Veteran who received assistance from the program said.

The program recently celebrated the groundbreaking of a new building in Braddock, Pennsylvania that will become their headquarters. The building is the former Good Shepherd Catholic School and Convent, and the $7M project would transform the property.

“We’re very excited to be transitioning out of our home in the strip district neighborhood of downtown Pittsburgh which has served us well for the past decade,” Ben Stahl, CEO of the Veterans Leadership Program said.

The Catholic school closed in 2018 and was vacant until the program purchased it in 2020. The 30,000-square-foot building is triple the size of the current location in the Strip District.

“It will be home to 25 single-bedroom units for transitional housing for veterans transitioning from homelessness or a place not meant for human habitation or real institution. And we’ll also be able to provide our supportive services, wellness and employment services to veterans,” Stahl said.

The building will be their administrative hub and veterans in central Pennsylvania can visit the center for assistance. However, Stahl says that the Johnstown office at 727 Goucher Street can also provide veterans with any resources they need.

“Our headquarters may be in Pittsburgh, but have been here in the Hiram G. Andrews Center since the nineties. So we’re, you know, embedded into the, you know, the fabric of this community. And we hope to be able to provide services for, you know, veterans and their families in Cambria County and, you know, even further into Altoona for more years to come,” he said.

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Vee also stated that the new headquarters would ease his mind about the future of veterans.

“Seeing the other veterans have that GPD, that transition faster, more reliable. And all the pieces are going to be together more direct. That’s going to be huge. And that’s going to help me sleep at night better and just know the world is getting better out there,” Vee said.

The building is expected to be completed in February 2025.

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