HIGH POINT – You may consider it a renovation, but the overhauled facilities at Caring Services/Vet Safety Net are as much about renewal as renovation.

“We’re calling it the Caring Services/Vet Safety Net Renewal Project,” says Pat Phelps, a volunteer who donated long hours to the building’s renovation.

“It’s not just a renewing of the building, but it’s also about the renewal of the men who live there, and even those of us who were involved in the project have kind of had a renewal of spirit doing it.”

An open house to show off the new digs will be held Sunday afternoon.

Local interior designer Alan Ferguson, founder and owner of Alan Ferguson Interiors, donated his services to oversee the renovation of the six-bedroom facility. Referring to the project as “an obsession,” Ferguson devoted himself wholly to the project.

“It started out as just a painting project,” Phelps says. “We had Alan come and give us some ideas – we thought he was just going to give us some paint colors and that kind of thing – but he saw the facility and met some of the guys, and he was just taken. Suddenly, he decided he wanted to devote his time to it.”

Many of the veterans living at the facility helped with the renovation, as did a number of volunteers.

“People have just come out of the walls to help,” Phelps says.

The new decor is bright and colorful: Hardwood floors have replaced the old, worn-out carpet. Ferguson’s paint schemes have replaced dark paneling. Woven shades and draperies have replaced mini-blinds. New furnishings, accent rugs, crown molding and art add to the appeal.

“It’s really colorful,” Phelps says. “The whole place is like a piece of art, and it feels like home.”

That’s important for the facility to feel like home, Phelps says, because it is a home. Caring Services/Vet Safety Net provides transitional housing for homeless veterans, typically veterans who have struggled with substance abuse. The program provides individual case management, counseling services, support and advocacy for the veterans.

A new roof has been ordered for the facility, too.

“We have stepped out on faith on this, because we don’t have all the money to pay for it,” Phelps says. “We don’t have enough to pay for the roof, but we’ve ordered it, knowing the community will step forward. We’re hoping people who come to the open house will be moved to be a part of it.”

According to Phelps, the renovation project fits nicely into the facility’s theme of renewal, which includes a relatively new program for putting its residents to work. Caring Services is developing work crews that will work with real-estate companies to make repairs and do other projects at homes that are about to be put on the market.

“One of our goals for many years has been to have a way for these veterans, when they come to Caring Services, to have work and begin earning money right away,” she explains. “These work crews can go in and do landscaping, clean the place, brighten it up by doing neutral painting, do electrical work, plumbing. It’s basically a one-stop shop, and it gives these people a chance to work.”