Just Us Home Care
A Vision for Cleveland’s Veterans
Named for a father, a sailor, and a veteran who never stopped fighting — The Damian Project is our commitment to building the homes, the care, and the community that Cleveland’s veterans deserve.
Download Our Full Vision Document
Site data, concept sketches, veteran statistics, and funding pathways formatted for partners and lenders.
A son, a sailor, and a city that needs to do better.
The Damian Project began with a name and a ship. Damian served aboard the USS Caron DD-970 during Operation Desert Storm. What he brought home from that service — the discipline, the sacrifice, the invisible weight — shaped the rest of his life in ways the military rarely prepares its people for. The Caron Community Homes are named in his honor, and in recognition of every sailor, soldier, and veteran who came home carrying more than they left with.
Damian’s struggles with alcoholism and gambling didn’t come from weakness. They came from a childhood that left him without armor, and a military experience that added wounds of its own. For years he fought to be recognized — to get the disability benefits he earned — while the system made him prove, again and again, that his service had cost him something. It had cost him everything.
His story is not unique. It is the story of thousands of veterans in Northeast Ohio alone. And it is the reason Just Us Home Care exists — and the reason The Damian Project must exist too.
The ship that carried our family’s history.
The USS Caron DD-970 was a Spruance-class destroyer commissioned in 1977 and named for Hospital Corpsman Wayne M. Caron, a Medal of Honor recipient who kept treating wounded Marines under enemy fire even after being shot twice, refusing care for himself until the end.
On January 14, 1991, the Caron deployed to the Red Sea as part of the Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group. On the opening night of Operation Desert Storm, she fired two BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles at Iraqi targets. She earned a Navy Unit Commendation for her service. Damian was aboard.
The Caron Community Homes carry that name deliberately — not as nostalgia, but as a promise. To treat every veteran who walks through our doors with the same commitment the Caron’s namesake showed: showing up fully, caring without hesitation, and refusing to leave anyone behind.
Care doesn’t stop at the front door.
Just Us Home Care is a licensed Ohio home health agency based in Maple Heights, serving individuals across Northeast Ohio who want to heal, recover, and age in the comfort of home. We coordinate with hospital discharge teams, physicians, and case managers. We accept Medicaid and private pay. And we show up with familiar faces and reliable schedules for every client we serve.
The Damian Project is the natural extension of that mission. Just Us Home Care handles the home health side — personal care, skilled coordination, discharge planning. The Damian Project builds the homes and the community infrastructure that makes long-term stability possible. Together, they form a continuum of care rooted in a simple belief: veterans deserve to be treated like family.
Each group home under The Damian Project will operate as its own LLC within the Just Us umbrella, ensuring financial accountability, regulatory clarity, and the ability to scale this model to additional Cleveland sites over time.
We built this for Damian. We’re building it for every veteran who fought the same fight he did — and for every family still carrying what service leaves behind.
Just Us Home Care · The Damian ProjectHomelessness among veterans is rarely just a housing problem. Service-connected mental health conditions, physical disability, substance use, and the difficult transition to civilian life all interact to create instability. Research consistently shows that stable housing paired with wraparound care — not just a bed — is what produces lasting outcomes. That is the model The Damian Project is built on.
Cleveland has the infrastructure. We’re building the bridge.
The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center and the VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System provide a robust clinical foundation that The Damian Project can coordinate with directly. Veterans in Cuyahoga County have access to benefits, services, and care. What’s missing is the stable, supported housing that makes accessing those resources possible.
The Damian Project isn’t proposing to replace the VA or the county’s existing services. We’re proposing to be the home that makes everything else reachable — a place where veterans can stabilize, access care on-site, connect with legal and benefits support, and rebuild their lives in a community that sees them as whole people, not case numbers.
That’s what Damian needed. That’s what we’re building.
Two buildings. Two names. One mission.
The Damian Project encompasses two landmark redevelopment opportunities in Cleveland — the Caron Community Homes at the historic Dall-Mays Houses in the Central neighborhood, and the Damian Legacy Project at Empire School in Glenville. Together they represent the full vision: intimate, home-like veteran housing at Dall-Mays, and a larger flagship with comprehensive wraparound services and community programming at Empire.
Dall-Mays Houses RFQ · Ward 5 · Central Neighborhood
Caron Community Homes
Part of The Damian Project
Named for the USS Caron DD-970, the destroyer where Damian served during Desert Storm, these two National Register-listed homes will be sensitively rehabilitated into intimate, home-like veteran housing.
| Address | 2225 & 2229 E. 46th St, 44103 |
| Built | 1875–1881 · Nat’l Register Listed |
| Zoning | MF-C1 Multi-Family |
| Tax Credits | Federal HTC + Ohio HTC Eligible |
| RFQ Partner | Cleveland Restoration Society |
| Proposed Use | Veteran Group Home + New Construction |
Landmark School Sites RFQ · Ward 9 · Glenville
Damian Legacy Project
Empire School · The Flagship
The flagship of The Damian Project — a 54,658 sq ft 1915 landmark in Glenville. Empire will be more than a group home. It will be a full wraparound care and community hub.
| Address | 9113 Parmelee Ave, 44108 |
| Built | 1915 · Local Landmark 2012 |
| Building | 54,658 sq ft · 2.1 acres |
| Zoning | MF-F2 Multi-Family |
| RFQ Partner | City of Cleveland ARO |
| Proposed Use | Veteran Housing + Community Care Hub |
More than housing. A place to heal, connect, and belong.
The Damian Legacy Project at Empire School is envisioned as a full wraparound care and community hub — one that serves veterans living on-site and opens its doors to the surrounding Glenville neighborhood.
Legal Aid & Disability Support
On-site or partnered legal support for veterans navigating VA disability claims.
Healthcare Access & VA Transportation
Partnerships with the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center and coordinated transportation.
Mental Health & Addiction Services
On-site counseling, peer support programming, and warm referrals to VA services.
Community Garden & Outdoor Space
A dedicated outdoor space for gardening, recreation, and quiet reflection.
Family Visit & Community Room
A welcoming space for family visits, meetings, and neighborhood programming.
Case Management & Navigation
Dedicated case workers supporting each resident’s path toward stability and connection.
The care layer that makes it all sustainable.
Just Us Home Care provides the licensed home health infrastructure that The Damian Project builds upon. Our existing services extend directly into each group home setting, ensuring every resident has access to professional care without leaving home.
Personal Care & Daily Living Support
Assistance with activities of daily living, mobility, hygiene, and meal preparation tailored to each veteran’s needs.
Skilled Nursing Coordination
Coordination with VA providers and community physicians — managing care plans, medications, and specialist referrals.
Discharge & Transition Planning
Rapid-response intake for veterans transitioning from VA facilities, hospitals, or other care settings.
VA Benefits Navigation
Support applying for VA disability compensation, HUD-VASH vouchers, and local veteran service connections.
Cleveland is already investing. The Damian Project aligns with that momentum.
Both proposed sites sit at the intersection of historic preservation, demonstrated community need, and active city investment. The Damian Project isn’t asking Cleveland to take a risk — it’s asking to serve a population the city has already committed to supporting, in buildings the city has already identified as priority redevelopment assets.
Built for lenders. Backed by policy.
The Damian Project is actively building relationships around historic tax credits, veteran housing programs, and mission-aligned lending pathways.
Help us build Damian’s legacy.
We are actively seeking development partners, lenders, and community stakeholders who share our commitment to Cleveland’s veterans and to the neighborhoods they call home.
This page represents an early-stage development vision by Just Us Home Care and The Damian Project. Site information is drawn from publicly available RFQ documents issued by the City of Cleveland Asset Redevelopment Office and the Cleveland Restoration Society. USS Caron DD-970 history sourced from the Naval History and Heritage Command. All site sketches are conceptual illustrations only.