Spotlighting Our Local Heroes
This Veterans Day, we honor those who sacrificed for our freedoms. We honor those who continue to serve in their communities, including the many veterans who have volunteered with us to fix up homes in need over the years for others. And, we are also reminded that many veterans in our backyard are still fighting battles they should not have to fight alone.
Michael's Story—U.S. Navy Veteran
Michael served our country in the U.S. Navy and developed a disabling case of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during his period of service. Today, his full-time duty is as single dad to his two very young children, ages four and six in Waterbury.
Could you imagine having a busy, young family with plumbing that doesn’t work throughout your home? When we came to take a look, Michael’s shower was broken, his kitchen and bathroom faucets didn’t work and his toilet was unusable. On top of it, his front door was drafty and would not lock.
Since our volunteer groups have almost completed this year’s Fall HomeFront Days, the only way to help Michael was through our Critical Pro Repair (CPR) service. We sent construction experts to replace their door, install a new shower head, tub spout, and vanity faucet before “roto-rootering” their drains and changing out trap assemblies in the bath and kitchen. This eliminated a great deal of stress for this young, deserving family.
Michael, U.S Navy veteran and dad
Frank's Story—U.S. Marine Corps Veteran
Frank blew out his knee during his Marine Corps service. In the course of his civilian life as a husband and contractor in Plantsville, Frank developed a heart condition. A miracle match came along and Frank recently received a heart transplant. His ability to heal hinged on limiting strain. Meanwhile his home was full of barriers: carpeting that hindered his wheel chair, rotted doors and cluttered spaces he could no longer navigate.
This past Spring, we turned to talented volunteers from St. Paul Parish in Kensington to remove all of the carpeting, swap out unsafe doors, add fresh coats of paint and tackle cleanup inside and out. The volunteers even took the initiative of replacing the garage door they noticed was too heavy for him. The enormity of it all moved Frank to comment,
"Everything was fabulous. We are very grateful. It was hard to watch our volunteer leader, Bob, run up and down the stairs leading work that I used to be able to do, but it was a HUGE help. We don't want to go anywhere. This is where we want to stay."
R:L: Frank, U.S. Marine veteran, his wife and the family dog.
Realities Today for our Local Heroes
Right now, 100 veterans in our community are waiting for our help with repairs – including those living with:
Faulty heating systems
Plumbing emergencies
Unsafe steps
Rotted doors and drafty windows
Accessibility challenges in their home (lacking a ramp, in need of a tub-to-shower conversion or chairlift)
Major ceiling and wall damage
Jacob served in the U.S. Army for six years in Afghanistan where he sustained a debilitating injury. Now a husband and father to three young children, Jake recently showed us the condition of one son’s bedroom who has asthma. Your donation of any amount can help us to give back to veterans like Jake.
Together, we have assisted more than 380 veterans, including five just this year. With the colder weather upon us we are ready to make homes warmer, safer and healthier for local heroes with more CPR projects. A donation of any amount can help us do just that.
This Veterans Day, we can honor service with action.
Today is a very special day. By all means, we should consider the sacrifices made for us. It’s a good day to reach out to veterans we know and thank them for their sacrifice. In HomeFront, we celebrate veterans every day. We can never re-pay their gifts to us. But, we can do all within our power to make sure that their homes are safe, warm and healthy. Thank you for considering a gift of any amount that can make this possible in your backyard. We look forward to keeping you updated on the veterans we help together.
PS: If you have repair skills and would like to join us in tackling a Critical Pro Repair project for a local veteran, you can find out more by contacting Lou Valenti: Lvalenti@homefrontprogram.org.
