Inside the Transitional Home for Homeless Veterans, there is little lacking in the way of comfort. The carpet is new, the trim is oak and the furniture is plush. There's a large kitchen, a community bathroom and a sun-filled living room complete with a TV.

Down the hall the bedrooms are tidy, and while it's only mid-morning, the beds are creased in military order. Next to one of them, a stack of books rises high, the paper covers creased as if folded back a hundred times.

Yet despite the comforts of this new transitional home on Leslie Ave., veterans who check in won't find an outpouring of sympathy waiting inside - though there's plenty of understanding and willingness to help. Those who live here are expected to set goals and strive to achieve them before moving on into the open world.

This is, home manager Rick Nicholson says, in the best interest of the veterans who need the home's transitional services. Every Monday evening tenants attend a mandatory life-skills class. Topics include cooking and CPR, shopping and budgeting. They meet with mentors once a week and do daily chores to keep the house clean. The University of Montana-Helena College of Technology offers a computer training class, and while it isn't mandatory that the tenants attend, they're "strongly encouraged" to do so.

"Get off your butts and go do something with your life - that's what this house is all about," Nicholson says, standing outside the kitchen. "If they want to be homeless and not make an effort, then the God's Love shelter is just down the street."

Nicholson can afford to give tough love. As a vet who served in the U.S. Army from 1980 to 1983, he's seen his share of ups and downs. After a stint in the Army, he shattered his wrist on the job and couldn't work. He admits to falling in with the wrong crowd and doing drugs before turning himself around.

Nicholson, who has wavy long hair and wears a beret, was the first resident to check into the new shelter after it opened in July. He graduated from a career training class at CTI and now works as the home's manager, doing spread sheets and tracking tenants. He's a realist with high, yet fair expectations.

"You get along with the others here or you don't live here," he says bluntly. "The guys get a little antsy sometimes, but it's a family thing. This is their home."

The kitchen smells like breakfast - eggs and potatoes, or is it ham? Dan Penkoff sits alone at the table and talks about the home's amenities, along with the 14 years that led him here after he left the Army.

Penkoff joined the service in 1978 and served until 1992 after a tour as a medic in the Persian Gulf War. His troubles started then, he says - issues that left him struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. He went through 17 jobs in 14 years, couldn't focus and couldn't make ends meet. He became a patient at a PTSD facility in Wyoming before they referred him here.

"When you've got PTSD depression, life comes to a screeching halt," he said. "You can't do it on your own. The nice thing here is that it allows you to get that focus. You're surrounded by people who can help."

Jim Balog, the disabled veteran outreach provider at the Helena Job Service, helped found the Montana Veteran's Foundation. At the old Cruse Home on 9th Avenue, which closed in July when the new home opened, veterans had six months to find their feet.

Here, however, they have two years to get things going. They receive physicals and mental-health evaluations, and interview with an intake committee before they're accepted into the home. They agree to set goals, keep the place clean, refrain from drugs, alcohol and gambling, get along with others, and attend the required classes.

"This place is run by a bunch of vets who got together and decided to do something about the lack of shelter for homeless vets," Balog says. "I deal with veterans all the time at the Job Service. They need some place to hang their hat, get the services they need and move on."

Balog says recent military conflicts involving U.S. servicemen have produced a high number of veterans needing shelter, referral to benefits and counseling. The need is great, he says, and one that helped prompt him and others to open the new facility.

Six men are living here now and a seventh will be interviewed this week. The facility has room for 11 men and is, both Balog and Nicholson agree, going to fill up quickly.

"We certainly enjoy what we do," Balog said. "This is for a good cause."

The new Transitional Home for Homeless Veterans will hold a grand opening for the public on Thursday, from 6-8 p.m. For more information, call 447-3228.