Richard Marthel has been through some ups and downs.
The Army veteran couldn't find affordable housing after moving to Lincoln two years ago.
He's faced a couple of evictions and had landlords seize his property. Marthel had to stay in Veterans Affairs transition housing three times.Â
But now the 64-year-old Vietnam veteran has found a permanent home at the Victory Park Veterans Residence, a new three-story apartment complex on the VA campus near 70th and O streets.
"I've been waiting a long time for this," said Marthel, who served as a radio teletype operator in South Korea from 1971 to 1973.
More than 100 volunteers helped outfit Marthel's and 24 other veterans' one-bedroom apartments Saturday morning with donated furniture and other necessities.
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The 25 veterans are the first residents at the complex that offers subsidized housing to homeless and low-income veterans.
Some of the residents, such as Marthel, signed leases Saturday and moved in right away.
Ryan Haakenson, a sophomore at Union College, came with his Seventh-day Adventist Bible study group to help move furniture.
"We just want to do what we can," the 20-year-old said. "They've done so much for us, we want to help give something back."
It wasn't the easiest work, either, as Haakenson discovered.
"Some of it's been pretty hard," Haakenson said, laughing, as he explained how he and some friends muscled a huge, leather sofa up three flights of stairs. "But it's rewarding to know that we've been able to help out."Â
Heroes into Homes, a Lincoln-based nonprofit that helps veterans furnish new homes, provided most of the furniture, including couches, end tables and TVs.
The veterans were given new mattresses from the VA, as well.Â
Formed in early September, the nonprofit is an outgrowth of the Marine Corps League, a nationwide organization that connects Marine veterans.
"It's hard to believe that there are that many of our veterans, our heroes that have served our community, out there under bridges," said Shon Olson, the marketing director for Heroes into Homes.
"Some of them are by choice ... but then there are those who don't know where to get help. They've run into roadblocks — whether they've lost their job or they've lost their families — and that's not right."
In Lincoln, members of the Marine Corps League have furnished homes for other veterans on an individual level since December 2015.
But with a larger veteran housing project underway on the Lincoln VA campus, league members such as Olson founded Heroes into Homes, a nonprofit that can accept larger, tax-deductible donations.Â
Since Olson and others began furnishing veterans' homes, donations have flooded in, nearly filling Olson's storage warehouses.
"We almost got to the point where we had to start turning things away," he said. "But we didn't say no to anything, as long as it was in good condition."
Olson said Saturday's move-in is just the start.
More veterans who apply through the VA will be moving into the $8.6 million, 70-unit complex over the next six months.
The housing complex is the first private project on Lincoln's VA Campus. Additional developments, including office space and more apartments, are in the works.Â
"It doesn't end today," Olson said. "It will be ongoing; the need for these apartments is great."