GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A reconstruction project at Veterans Memorial Park in Grand Rapids will soon be completed. The historic building is being transformed into a coffee shop.
The HAS HEART Coffee Shop strives to make a connection between veterans, artists and the community. It's expected to open in about four to six weeks.
"We're asking the community to join us and really welcome veterans home," CEO and Chairman Michael Hyacinthe says. "HAS HEART is a place where veterans who look different and can come with ideas and find a place where they belong."
The non-profit organization focuses on connecting veterans with creative designers to allow them to creatively tell their stories and heal. It's something that the U.S. Navy veteran is familiar with himself.
"When I got back home, and when many veterans returned home, we're constantly trying to find that camaraderie, something which the military does well at," Hyacinthe says. "And so, when we come home, and we don't have that bond, you know, a lot of us find ourselves lost."
He and his business partner, Tyler Way, hope that those who are feeling lost can connect here over a cup of coffee in Veterans Memorial Park.
"Obviously, it means a lot to a lot of people in the community being Veterans Memorial Park, and so it's just the perfect opportunity for us to create a gathering space on a daily basis where veterans and civilians can interact," Way, the non-profit's co-founder and creative director, says.
This has been a years-long process to get this shop open, and they're nearing the finish line. The inside is being completely redone, and a patio is being added outside.
"We've been making a lot of progress over the past few months, being that it is an historic building that we ran into a couple of delays," Way says.
They hope to get the community's help to make the inside unique.
"Our goal right now is to get the local community to come and donate their old military uniforms, BDU's, so that we can make seats out of those materials and so we can repurpose, the material and and create a very innovative and creative coffee shop," Hyacinthe says.
HAS HEART is taking these donations at the coffee shop and at two Sheldon's Cleaners Laundry Rooms.
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