Anyone paying attention knows the data on our country’s Veterans is not good. Statistics show that 10% of our veterans are homeless and 13% of the local homeless population in the Cincinnati Region are veterans. Many veterans struggle with PTSD and roughly 6% struggle with substance abuse.

Alicia Patterson and the Joseph House team saw a problem and decided to do something about it. The mission of Joseph House is to meet the needs of military veterans and their families affected by addiction within the Greater Cincinnati region; providing counseling, education and support to help clients recover, reintegrate and thrive in the community while maintaining a healthy, sustainable lifestyle.

At Emboss we have had the absolute honor and privilege of serving clients with big dreams and large data sets to distort.  Case in point is this project.  We recently attended their ribbon cutting ceremony for Joseph House, a new residential facility in the Camp Washington neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio.  At the ceremony, Alicia Patterson, the Executive Director for Joseph House, reflected on her experience of seeing changes in people in real time during her time in the U.S. Marine Corp. She witnessed the internal, physical, spiritual, and emotional journeys of our veterans – who at the point of enlisting were notably some of our country’s strongest, most resilient, fittest and smartest people, who can often find themselves on the other side of war – at the other end of the spectrum of mental and physical fitness – desolate and in need of tremendous support. The extremes of the human experience.

So she decided to get deeply involved in changing the data. It is her life’s work and her passion to inspire hope in everyone around her. She spoke about symbology and how important symbols are to veterans’ culture – the American flag, the Star-Spangled Banner, and Purple Hearts…. And for my industry, the beginning of our story of changing the data through the built environment starts right here, with a ribbon cutting.

We are deeply honored and proud to have provided our talents and expertise to Joseph House – making this new building an epicenter for healing and hope.