New Montvale apartment complex offers stability for homeless veterans

Six-unit development part of New Jersey’s ‘Bringing Veterans Home’ initiative

An Army veteran who ended up homeless earlier this year is about to move into a place of his own.

Scott Easedale, 66, ended up on the street after his late mother’s landlord booted him out of a drafty, rat-infested property in Clifton.

But on April 1, Easedale will finally move into a place he can call home: a two-bedroom, second-floor apartment in a Montvale complex designed specifically for homeless and disabled service members.

“I’m very happy,” a beaming Easedale told The Jersey Vindicator. “We sacrificed our lives. And it’s about time someone stepped up. We don’t want to see vets on the street struggling; they need a place to go.”

Easedale was one of dozens of people who attended a ceremony Tuesday morning, March 24, to watch Gov. Mikie Sherrill and a handful of state and local officials cut the ribbon on the six-unit complex, which the governor said will help give vets peace of mind.

“They’ll be moving from day-to-day survival to stability, to a new life of independence,” said Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot who spent a decade in the armed forces. “It’s simple: Nobody who has ever served this country should worry about where they’re sleeping at night.”

“Home by home, brick by brick, this is a key part of how we can finally fulfill the promise we made as a nation to never leave any service member behind,” she continued. “It’s not just a new building; it’s a new beginning.”

The gray building on the corner of Kinderkamack Road and Nottingham Court, which was once a podiatrist’s office, is the culmination of a great deal of labor by elected officials, charitable groups, and veterans’ support coalitions, all of whom worked together to combat the Garden State’s epidemic of veteran homelessness.

It’s also part of the governor’s wider attempt to address the perennially stubborn issue, which Sherrill said she’ll fight by pushing budget money into the state’s “Bringing Veterans Home” initiative.

Since January 2025, the joint program run by the state’s Department of Community Affairs and Department of Veterans Affairs has permanently housed more than 1,900 New Jersey vets, according to Veterans Affairs Commissioner Vincent Solemeno.

“The Bringing Veterans Home program reflects not only our bipartisan commitment … but it really speaks to the fact that in a state whose motto is ‘Liberty and Prosperity,’ no veteran should worry about where he or she has to rest his or her head at night,” Solemeno said.

“It’s working,” Sherrill added. “This is the year that we will end veteran homelessness in New Jersey.”

In Montvale, the community has come together to make the new tenants feel at home.

The developer, Nouvelle LLC, built the rentals with disabled vets in mind, while the New Jersey SOS Veteran Stakeholders Group tracked down qualified families who would benefit from the development.

Earlier this week, more than three dozen members of the New Jersey Elks assembled donated furniture that was purchased through a grant awarded to NJ SOS Vets by HUD, thanks to the advocacy of Senator Cory Booker and a partnership with Ashley Furniture. The Elks also donated vacuums, kitchen appliances, and bath supplies as part of welcome home kits, and other organizations donated food cards for future tenants, all at no cost.

Longtime Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco said the county has worked hard to end veteran homelessness. And projects like the Montvale initiative continue the progress.

“These six units may seem small in number, but the impact is anything but,” he said. “For the veterans who will live here, this means security; this means peace of mind; and it means having a place to call home.”

“Our veterans deserve more than just our thanks,” he continued. “They deserve a government and a community that shows up for them and has their backs. You stepped up to serve our country; the least we can do is make sure you have a roof over your head.”

Easedale’s finally got that roof.

But the former Army specialist and sharpshooter isn’t done yet. He wants to pay it forward by helping others who face similar troubles.

“I’ve got to get a hold of somebody who can get me down to Washington to tell them they’ve got to get all this s—t going,” he said. “Stop playing. It’s wrong. They’re making people suffer.”