Welcome to the Village During 2024, Hero’s Bridge CEO and founder, Molly Brooks, was entrenched in the rezoning battle, which ended with a Christmas miracle when the Warrenton Town Council approved the rezoning request with a vote of 5-2 on December 10. The room erupted in applause, and Hero’s Bridge supporters spent the remainder of the year enjoying their hard-earned success. The Hero’s Bridge Village team spent the first quarter of 2025 working on various items, both large and small, and is thrilled to reveal the much-anticipated renderings of the Village. It has been a labor of love over the last few years, but through all the battles, it turned out almost exactly as envisioned: a special place of beauty, comfort, and healing for our older veterans. Guests to the Village will park beside the Community Center, where the Hero’s Bridge team will work, veterans will gather, and volunteers, such as those from our Paw Patrol program, will offer gentle comfort with a loyal, four-legged friend. The Need Prior military service, especially in combat, has been shown to greatly affect the aging process. While some veterans do well, many others experience chronic illnesses from Agent Orange and other wartime exposures. The loss of a spouse, retirement, or illness often sends these heroes in a downward spiral, and the military culture they know keeps them from asking for help. Every day Hero’s Bridge receives calls from hospitals, emergency rooms, social services, churches, and other organizations asking us to help with an older veteran. We assist many of them in their own homes, but some situations are just too severe to help them where they are. They Need a Village A safe, clean home is a basic necessity, essential to a human’s well-being. We have a responsibility to ensure every senior veteran has safe and supportive housing. For our older heroes, trying to sustain big unmanageable houses can be what tips the scales from independence to dependence. Hero’s Bridge Village will be the first-of-its-kind community dedicated exclusively to lifting our aging veterans out of substandard living conditions and social isolation. The Hero’s Bridge Village will radically change the lives of these veterans as well as the culture of our community. Our veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam have already given so much; the least we can do for them is provide affordable and supportive housing. Sponsorship Opportunities for Every Budget This has always been the community’s project. There are opportunities for families, businesses, and civic organizations to put their name and stamp of support on this very place. Whether it is a small brick for $100 or the naming rights of different spaces throughout the Village, your name can forever be part of the fabric of this community. Hero’s Bridge is dedicated to serving veterans aged 65 and older by bridging them to a better quality of life through age-specific and innovative programs. These services are available to our heroes wherever they call home, at no expense to them or their families. by Aimée O’Grady Community Outreach Coordinator Heroes Bridge A Congratulatory Message to Our Graduating Seniors As another school year comes to a close, I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to each of our Fauquier County graduating high school seniors. Achieving this milestone is not only a celebration of your hard work, perseverance, and dedication, but it is the next step into your exciting future. Whether you have chosen to pursue a higher education, enter the workforce, join the military, or explore other meaningful paths, know that we are immensely proud of you. Your determination and commitment at this point speaks volumes about your character and the bright outlook ahead of you. To those heading off to college or technical schools, continue to seek knowledge, challenge yourselves, and grow in all ways that will shape both your personal and professional lives. And to those entering the workforce, thank you for stepping forward to contribute your talents and energies to our community and beyond. Both paths are honorable, and both are essential components of the strength and vitality of our society. You represent the best of Fauquier County. Your families, your schools, and your communities stand behind you, are proud of what you have accomplished, and are confident in what you will become. On behalf of the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office, I wish you all the very best as you move forward. May your futures be filled with purpose, opportunity and success. Congratulations, Class of 2025! Beyond the Community Center, guests will enter the Village of 44 cottages, where each home faces the others in a quiet embrace of community. The cottages will wear America’s colors, patriotic, cheerful, and warm. Each cottage is purposely small, simple, and fully ADAcompliant. The Village will be a promise fulfilled—a haven of comfort and care, where even the most overlooked of our aging veterans can spend their twilight years wrapped in dignity. Here they will find belonging, peace, and the honor they’ve long deserved. By Sheriff Jeremy A. Falls, MPA 540-349-8060 www.discoverypubs.com 30 Discover Fauquier ■ June/July 2025 To advertise: