Community Impact
Infrastructure Is a Social Good.
ECO-SPAN is built for wildfire zones. It is also built for the communities most vulnerable within them — veterans who served, individuals rebuilding their lives, and families who deserve safe, dignified, fire-resilient housing.
501(c)(3) Nonprofit
Ohana First Foundation
Ohana First Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to providing affordable, fire-resilient housing for veterans and their families. "Ohana" means family in Hawaiian — and our mission is to ensure that those who served this country have a safe, dignified place to call home.
Veterans are disproportionately affected by housing instability. In California's wildfire zones, the problem is compounded: affordable housing stock is combustible, uninsurable, and increasingly unavailable. Ohana First deploys ECO-SPAN to build housing that is both affordable and built to last.
ECOCORE partners with Ohana First Foundation to provide ECO-SPAN materials at cost for qualifying veteran housing projects, enabling nonprofit developers to build non-combustible structures at a price point that makes affordable housing viable in high-risk zones.
Mission
Ensure every veteran has access to safe, dignified, fire-resilient housing — regardless of income level or geographic risk zone.
How ECO-SPAN Applies
- Non-combustible floors, ceilings, and trusses for fire-safe construction
- Rapid deployment reduces construction timeline and labor costs
- Lower insurance premiums make long-term affordability viable
- Durable, low-maintenance structure reduces lifecycle costs
Eligible Programs
VA Supportive Housing (VASH), HUD-VASH, USDA Rural Development, California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet), and FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
Mission
Provide stable, safe, dignified transitional housing for individuals in addiction recovery and those reentering society after incarceration — as a foundation for lasting reintegration.
The Shard Model
"Shard" is shared housing built on hard work and recovery. Each Ascend Shard residence is a structured transitional environment — safe, non-combustible, and designed to support the stability that recovery requires.
Residents are connected to employment programs, treatment services, and community support networks. Housing is the foundation — everything else builds from there.
Partner Programs
Treatment centers, drug courts, county reentry programs, parole and probation departments, and workforce development organizations. Ascend Shard Housing serves as the housing component within a broader reintegration ecosystem.
Recovery and Reentry Housing
Ascend Shard Housing
Ascend Shard Housing addresses one of the most critical gaps in the recovery and reentry ecosystem: safe, stable housing that does not burn, does not deteriorate, and does not carry the stigma of institutional design.
Individuals leaving treatment or incarceration face a housing market that is expensive, competitive, and often inaccessible. Ascend Shard provides transitional housing built with ECO-SPAN — non-combustible, durable, and designed to last — in partnership with treatment programs and reentry organizations.
The name reflects the program's philosophy: a shard is a fragment that becomes part of something whole. Every resident is rebuilding — and the structure they live in should reflect that permanence and possibility.
How It Works
The ECOCORE Impact Model
Manufacturing
ECOCORE produces ECO-SPAN blocks at the Laughlin, Nevada facility at scale — 66,000 units per month at full capacity.
Materials at Cost
Impact program partners receive ECO-SPAN at cost or through donation for qualifying veteran and recovery housing projects.
Rapid Build
ECO-SPAN's rapid deployment model reduces construction timelines and labor dependency — critical for nonprofit budgets.
Durable Housing
Non-combustible structures with 4-hour fire ratings provide long-term safety and lower insurance costs for program operators.