Maureen Beauregard thought of her brother first.

After serving in the Marine Corps for two decades, his transition home was not easy. Beauregard flew cross-country every other week to care for him. Her sister picked up the alternate days.

He could have used a resource like the New Hampshire Veterans Campus. 

The new 15-acre site will be a central hub of resources for Granite State veterans. The initial phase of construction – which includes 29-units of affordable housing, a central meeting space for service providers, conference rooms and a hotel – is slated to open this summer. 

Upon completion, the campus will also include recreational facilities – from a pool to indoor riding arena and ropes course. With this central site for veterans’ services, Beauregard hopes to help serve veterans like her brother after their service to the country.

“To be in this regimen for over 20 years and then to land, everything catches up with you,” said Beauregard, the President and CEO of Easterseals in New Hampshire and Vermont. “Everybody has lots of brothers and sisters that could use something like this.”

Frank Swirko, assistant director of the Military and Veterans Campus at Easterseals, understands the transition more than most.

Swirko served over 40 years in the Army and Army Reserves, with 17 years of active duty. His time in the military was marked by his experience caring for soldiers and their families, he said. This new campus aligns with that mission.

Personally, he is counting down the days to future residents’ move-in date.

One new tenant told Swirko that he felt anxious about his upcoming move. After learning about the veteran’s scattered housing history over the last few years, Swirko understood why.

“I can’t wait for him to see that place,” Swirko said. “I want to be there when he’s there to see it.”

This shared experience helps Swirko connect with future residents. He knows what it’s like and the questions or hesitations they may have.

The connection is one benefit of having veterans themselves design and lead the campus.

Allen Aldenberg, who served for three decades in the U.S. Army, will oversee the campus as the Chief Military and Veterans Services Officer for Easterseals. He is also an active member of the New Hampshire Army National Guard.

For him, the campus is a tool for New Hampshire to lead the country in their care for armed forces and their families. He is acutely aware of suicide rates among veterans and the need for more housing in the state, too.

“This is going to take it to a whole new level,” he said. “The hope is that five years from now, people across the country go, ‘What are they doing in New Hampshire?’”

During his 2022 State of the State speech, then-Governor Chris Sununu proposed the site in partnership with Easterseals, funneling $23 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars into the project. Easterseals is looking to donors to help fund another $27 million to complete the project.

While the campus will serve people living on-site, Beauregard hopes it will also serve as a one-stop-shop for anyone with a military connection in the area.

“Maybe somebody comes for a week, maybe somebody comes for a month, maybe somebody lives with us,” said Beauregard. “It’s up to them what they need. It’s up to us to provide them that choice, the thing that really helps them move from point A to point B in the best way possible.”

The campus includes Daniel Webster’s family home, also known as ‘The Elms,’ which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Easterseals already owned the property, which was previously home to Farnum North, a substance misuse treatment program that shut down during the pandemic.

To determine what programming should be available on-site, Easterseals asked veterans themselves. Top responses included housing, a pool and recreation.

The engagement process revealed that, while the state offers several services, many veterans don’t know where or how to begin accessing them. By consolidating these offerings to one central place, Aldenberg hopes to reach more people.

“Once a veteran gets bogged down in the system, he or she becomes frustrated, and then we lose them. They fall through the cracks,” he said. “I’m confident that this campus will be like a clearinghouse.”

Aldenberg has a vision that people driving along Route 3 will see the Easterseals sign and drive up, only to leave with a new connection.

That’s what happened for Swirko.

He retired a year ago from the Manchester Police Department. After hearing about Easterseals’ work on the campus, he and his wife took a drive north to see the site. As soon as they pulled in, his wife called it: He’d be going back to work.

“This project in this location — it’s a dream come true,” he said. “This gives me a chance to keep giving.”

To learn more about the campus and apply for housing visit: eastersealsnh.org/welcomehome.

Michaela Towfighi can be reached at mtowfighi@cmonitor.com