Aroostook County native Zach Inman is taking the summer off to construct a veteran sanctuary on 10 of the 128 acres of land that he recently purchased in Linneus.

According to the Bangor Daily News, the sanctuary will be a place for veterans to work on their physical and mental health while also learning trade skills to help get them back in the work force.

Inman’s son Jacob, who is a disabled veteran, asked his father to do something to help struggling veterans. Jacob had told his father that he’d watched too many of his friends deal with homelessness, drugs and suicide after returning home and wanted to see something done.

Inman, who has worked in construction for 31 years, told Zach that if he could find the property, he would buy it and use it to build cabins for veterans looking for a break from the outside world. Zach found the 128-acre property and Inman purchased it for $68,500.

Inman has already cleared 5 acres and plans to build several cabins on it by the end of the summer. For now, it will be a place veterans can go off-the-grid and find some peace, but Inman has bigger plans for the sanctuary in the future. Eventually, Inman hopes to create facilities and housing that will allow veterans to stay for six months, learning trades like woodworking, farming, or firefighting. He says he also hopes to add counseling services in the future.

Inman has secured funds for the sanctuary through his own foundation, the Veteran’s Sanctuary Foundation, which he has raised around $130,000 for. To complete his project however, the foundation will need to apply for grant funding as well.

To contact the Veterans Sanctuary Foundation, call 702-468-2704.