BAINBRIDGE, Ga. (WTXL) - Two years ago, a south Georgia center for veterans was intentionally set on fire.
The Honor House in Bainbridge was destroyed, but a group of local veterans and their supporters kept looking for a place to rebuild.
On Sept. 6, a fire destroyed the Honor House Veterans Center in Bainbridge, just days before a grand opening.
"It hurt a lot of us, because we had a lot of time and sweat and blood and tears in what we were doing," said Dan West, the president of Honor Sentinel, Inc.
It's a case of arson that's still unsolved, but last year, Honor Sentinel, Incorporated found this old house on West Street to start over.
The center had a soft opening Dec. 2. Honor Sentinel funded most of the new project designed to encourage local vets to stop by.
"And the reason we call it 'Honor House' is we're trying to honor what they've done for us and their service to the country -- and even to their local town," said Garrett Inlow, a member of Honor Sentinel, Inc.
"You're going to be surrounded who've been in the same situation, and those people aren't going to be there to judge you about what you're feeling or what you're going through, it adds a lot of comfort and relieves a lot of anxiety," said West.
It's taken a year to fix this place up, and there's still more work to be done, but the goal is to give local veterans a space to relax and find resources here in Bainbridge.
"Everything in here is free," said West. "That was our main goal."
Along with food, entertainment and literature, Honor Sentinel is working with a lawyer and doctor that will address veterans' needs. The group is still working on cleaning up the place getting everything ready for any veteran who comes through the door.
"It's important -- not because of what we're doing for us, but the reason why we're doing it," said West.
The Honor House will be open Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m. Honor Sentinel says the grand opening will be sometime in February.
