The Simonds Road nonprofit announced this week that it will end its current operations on Sept. 30, yielding to market forces that have made its model unsustainable in the relatively isolated, small town setting.

 

A big driver in the decision is an institutional change in focus at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which in recent years has placed more emphasis on placing homeless vets into permanent housing, rather than using the temporary, transitional beds at “Grant Per Diem” homes like Turner House.

 

“In many respects, this is positive,” Turner House Executive Director Scott Haskell said on Friday. “A lot of good work has occurred from and with us and with the VA. People love to bash the VA, but they’ve done a lot of good work.”

 

But Turner House needs to stay financially viable, and the VA, with its changing focus, has been forced to cut back on reimbursements under the Grant Per Diem program.

 

“[The Department of Housing and Urban Development] is doing the same thing,” Haskell said. “New York has had a couple of cuts to very large grants for their homeless shelters because HUD wanted the money to go toward permanent housing.

 

“For the VA, a lot of this is a reaction to the president’s push. Five years ago this past December, he came out with a goal to end veterans homelessness by December 2015. Some communities have done this. They’re at 0 percent homelessness for veterans.”

 

In some U.S. cities, a homeless veteran is placed in a permanent home within 24 hours of going into the system, Haskell said.

 

Nowadays, a system that did not have enough transitional beds to meet the need has too many short-term options like Turner, where veterans have been able to stay for up to 90 days.

 

“This has impacted Grant Per Diems around the country,” Haskell said. “We’re probably one of the first go out of the business. Many of the Grant Per Diems are part of a larger program that does permanent housing. [Veterans advocacy group] Soldier On is an example. They’re doing a lot of their own permanent housing.

 

“Grant Per Diems that want to be solely Grant Per Diems need to be in a different area.”

 

That hints at the other driver forcing the Turner House board of directors’ decision: location.

 

Haskell said he recently attended a conference where a speaker was talking about the ideal location for veterans housing.

 

“He said you need to be close to a VA hospital, you need to be close to jobs and close to vets in need,” Haskell said. “I’m sitting there thinking: Strike 1, Strike 2, Strike 3.”

 

He said the quiet setting in Williamstown’s north end suits some veterans to a T. But the address is not served by bus, and the nearest retail is the Stewart’s Shop in Pownal, Vt., about a mile up Route 7.

 

“A lot of guys, particularly the younger guys coming back from the Mideast, want to be in the middle of everything,” Haskell said.

 

Turner House has nine single-bed rooms. It currently has approval from the VA for up to seven Grant Per Diem residents, but only five of those beds are filled, Haskell said.

 

Over the last two decades, hundreds of veterans have benefited from Turner House. Haskell can’t say exactly how many have transitioned to permanent housing because privacy laws don’t allow the facility to keep any kind of formal records.

 

“Some of them have settled here in North County,” he said. “I know a bunch of people who have moved on and done very well. Some will say their life was saved by the experience at Turner House, and that’s the same for any Grant Per Diem.

 

“I don’t have statistics to give you. That’s a good question. HIPAA laws make it difficult to follow up, but we do hear things.”

 

Haskell said Turner House’s board is trying to figure out the next step for the nonprofit, including what will become of the home donated by World War II veteran Ferman Turner in the 1990s.

 

One option includes some sort of permanent housing for veterans. At the other end of the spectrum, the residence could be sold.

 

“If it did come to selling the house, any proceeds would go to a foundation to help veterans,” Haskell said. “[The nonprofit's future] depends on the market, frankly, the need and the demand.”