(WXYZ) — This Veterans Day, we're shining a light on a remarkable veteran in Lapeer who has provided housing for hundreds of our community members.
It's really an astounding story. In 2013 Vietnam veteran Patrick Bell created Caroline House, a home in Lapeer where he has about 20 people – primarily veterans – staying at a time, completely free, as they work to get back on their feet.
I visited Caroline House to learn how Bell got started providing a home for those without and see the lives he's changing.
Driving by the big house, it's unassuming. There's nothing too abnormal, but inside every day, something incredible is happening.
Bell is a Vietnam veteran, and he's lived to see quite a lot. He showed me around Caroline House.
"Why is it named Caroline’s house?" I asked.
"Because that was my daughter who died, 6 years old, 44 years ago," Bell said.
He bought the 10-bedroom, four-bathroom farmhouse back in October 2013. He was spending his weekends that fall in the Cass Corridor of Detroit, handing out food to people who had nowhere to live.
"A guy came up and told me he knew I was a farmer and he said, ‘I’d work on your farm for free if I could stay in your barn,’ and that’s when the light went off," Bell said.
See my full interview with Patrick in the video below
Rather than just feeding people without a home, Bell tells me he thought he could do more.
He served as a U.S. Marine in the Vietnam War in 1969 and 1970, and noticed that many fellow veterans in particular were without housing.
Pat started inviting those he met to come live at Caroline House for free.
"How many people have come to stay here with you?" I asked.
"I think I’m about 360 something right now," he said.
He tells me about 22 people can stay here at one time.
"It’s not a shelter, it’s a home," he said.
He also pays for everything himself, and prioritizes creating a family atmosphere.
"We have two big tables where we all sit and eat dinner together, like a family," Bell said. "If you could take all the homeless and string them together, the one thing they don’t have is family. Now you develop a family."
Aurora Harmon and her little girl, Rosie, are part of that family. She isn't a veteran, but she was leaving an abusive relationship and was almost nine months pregnant when Bell told her she could come stay at Caroline House. Her bubbly daughter, Rosie, was born while they were living there.
"I’ve had my own apartment for about three years now, and it’s been great knowing that I went from not having my own home to now having my own apartment, my own family," she said.
Art Phillips served in the Navy from 1974 to 1976. He and his wife are currently living at Caroline House after being evicted and sheltering at their storage unit.
"He sees a need and puts an effort forth to solve the problem," Phillips said. "The owner of the storage unit stopped by said we couldn’t stay there overnight, but was a really nice guy, and told us about Pat. Pat was up the next day, then we were here. It was remarkable."
Like any functioning household, Bell says he does have rules.
"Well, first and foremost is no alcohol and no drugs, and there’s no forgiveness in that," he said.
"We pitch in together as a group for items that we need, but Pat always keeps the freezer full," Phillips said.
"Family over everything at this point and it’s like you can improve from going from nothing to something," Harmon added.
While people live here, Pat works to help find them a job and affordable housing. In the 11th year of Caroline House, he tells me he has about a 97% success rate.
"People from all over the state call me now," he said.
He still spends many weekends giving out food in the Cass Corridor, and he's still dreaming. He told me he's working on a plan to help better the lives of children in foster care.
"You’re a very special human being, you do a lot for a lot of people," I said.
"Yeah, well it’s like that sign in the hallway here, it says leave nobody behind, so that’s what I try to do. When I was in the Vietnam War, we never left anybody behind," he said.
