Piquette Square

Detroit veteran turns around life with supportive housing

Marcus Cobb takes part in a art class for veterans at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

For Marcus Cobb, a community leader in Southwest Detroit, there are some days that Vietnam still looms large, even after nearly a half-century has passed.

“I don’t really like to talk about that time,” said Cobb, a mentor who is now nine years sober. “I have PTSD; a lot of veterans do. These days, I try to help other veterans so they can get their life back together like I have.”

Nine years ago, battling alcoholism and chronic homelessness, Cobb found his way to Piquette Square, a service-enriched housing development in Detroit that specifically responds to the needs of at-risk veterans so they can regain their health and economic stability. It was developed by Southwest Solutions, one of Detroit’s largest community development organizations, and includes 150 apartments for former service men and women.

“If I hadn't come to Piquette Square, I would either still be living on the street or, more likely, be dead—alcohol was killing me,” said the 65-year-old Cobb, who joined the Army when he was just 18, just after graduating from high school. “This is home. I don’t think I can say it any better than that. It’s just home.”

After six years in the service attached to Big Red One, the 1st Infantry out of Fort Riley, Ks., Cobb struggled to return to civilian life. Early on, he was able to find work in maintenance and construction, building on skills developed in the military. But he was losing those jobs or quitting as his drinking worsened, and losing his housing as well.

“I really did live on the streets,” he said. “I got boxes and built myself a lean-to. I always found ways to work in some way, maybe cutting grass or washing floors at the local police station or fire station. But that was my house. That was it.”

The staff at the nearby Veterans Administration hospital eventually steered him toward Piquette Square. A decade ago, Southwest Solutions raised $23 million from CDFIs and other partners to build the housing, space for services and green space on the site of a former Studebaker plant. By connecting with public, private and philanthropic sources of funding, Southwest Solutions was able to assemble the kind of flexible, affordable capital that simply isn’t available from conventional lenders and investors—but is vital to keeping rents affordable and providing social services.

Most eesidents of Piquette Square are veterans age 50 or older, and more than a quarter of them had been chronically homeless before finding their new home.

“I haven’t had a drink in nine years,” said Cobb to illustrate the impact on his life. “When I came here, that was the day my story changed. That first day, I showed up with two bags and the staff asked what I had in there—I told them I had some clothes and some Jack Daniels,” he recalled. “They took my clothes to the laundry, took the Jack Daniels, and told me they were going to help me with the drinking and help me get back to a steady income. Then, they gave me the key to my apartment. I walked in and couldn’t believe it. It even had a microwave. I mean….that was really something.”

Mental health counseling, project management classes, employment support and other services are all available to help veterans reclaim their independence. Cobb took advantage of as many opportunities as he could, and he urges new residents to do the same. Most residents either find jobs or volunteer in the community, he said. And often, they are doing both.

“I feel like I am blessed. I truly do. So I want to give back,” he explained. “A lot of guys come in off the streets, and they don’t have anything and they don’t know what’s in the area. After a while, they look around, and they ask what’s going on. They want to be involved. Locally, we’re well known for getting involved.”

Cobb’s community contributions are long and varied. He is a mentor to people participating in Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous programs. He is the president of the local Reboot Association, which seeks to improve the lives of veterans with mental and physical challenges. He volunteers with the Weekend Survival Kits program, which provides food for low-income families in several Detroit Public Schools during the school year. And he is a supervisor of Better Way Detroit, which offers paid work to people who are homeless to help beautify the city.

For this and other volunteer efforts, Cobb was honored earlier this year with the Urban Parish Spirit Award, given annually by the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance’s Urban Parish Coalition and the Archdiocesan Office for Black Catholic Ministries.

Does Cobb consider himself an ambassador for Piquette Square and for veterans? “I guess maybe I am,” he said. “But I don’t do it on my own,” he stressed. “There are lots of guys like me. When I first came here, the staff told me that when I get my life together, I need to help the next veteran do the same. I’ve found that I can be useful. That’s why I want to share my story.”

For more on Southwest Solutions and Piquette Square, visit www.swsol.org.