For the past two years, the Redding Veterans Resource Center has quietly been using its Park Marina House to help homeless veterans get back on their feet.
On Wednesday, the center decided to make a little noise. To start with, the Redding Chamber of Commerce held one of its popular “greeters” events at the Park Marina House and asked Brad Long, regional site director for the Veterans Resource Centers (VRC), to perform ribbon-cutting honors.
Long, who oversees VRC facilities in Redding, Chico and Eureka, acknowledged the groups that contributed to the creation of the Park Marina House, including the Shasta Builders Exchange, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the city of Redding, the Episcopal Church and the Nick Dahl Memorial Veterans Fund.
The 12-bed Park Marina House was established in honor of Nick Dahl, an Iraq War veteran who died in October 2014 of complications tied to his post-traumatic stress disorder. His father, Mike Dahl, a former Redding mayor, and his mother, Pam Dahl, created the fund in memory of their son to help local veterans with housing and other services. The fund is administered by the Shasta Regional Community Foundation.
Pam Dahl, center (in red) and Brad Long at the ribbon-cutting. Photos by Jon Lewis.
On Wednesday, Pam Dahl presented Long with an oversized check for $15,000, representing proceeds from the second annual Nick Dahl Memorial Golf Tournament that was held last fall. The money will help the Park Marina House continue “to give veterans a safe, secure place to get back on their feet,” Pam Dahl said.
In keeping with the theme of the lunch hour ceremony, Long then unveiled a portrait of Nick Dahl that was commissioned as a way for the VRC to pay its respects for the Army veteran’s sacrifice.
Festivities then moved to the Park Marina House’s back yard, where Joe Chimenti, executive director of the Shasta Builders Exchange, joined with representatives of Majestic Builders to break ground on a patio structure the two organizations are donating to the VRC.
On display during the proceedings was an artist’s rendition of the Shasta Lake Veterans Village, a 30-unit permanent housing facility for veterans to be constructed in the city of Shasta Lake. “This is really going to be a big deal,” promised Mike Dahl, himself a Vietnam War veteran.
The planned Shasta Lake Veterans Village
The Park Marina House, located at the intersection with South Street, provides transitional housing and supportive services to male veterans, with the goal of helping veterans increase their self-sufficiency through mentoring and guidance. The facility is a drug- and alcohol-free environment and its residents are tested weekly.
Nick Dahl, Army veteran.
Nick Dahl was a lifelong Redding resident who attended Shasta Meadows Elementary, Mountain View Middle School, Foothill High and Shasta Home School. He joined the Army after high school and was a member of the 1st Battalion, 27th Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, Charlie Company, 3rd Platoon, 2nd Brigade Stryker Combat Team. He deployed to Iraq in March of 2008 and spent 14 months patrolling near Sadr City, Baghdad.
For more information on the Redding Veterans Resource Center, call (530) 223-3211.
