[dropcap]C[/dropcap]ars lined the 100 block of Tupelo Drive in Kyle when police escorted Daniel Lathers and his family’s SUV to the driveway of their new home.
Once there, numerous friends, family and well-wishers applauded and smiled as the Lathers looked upon the brick exterior residence.
But for Lathers, a United States Marine Corps veteran who suffers from injures sustained after three tours to Iraq, the home meant much more than a roof over his family’s head.
It also signified the willingness of volunteers to help disabled veterans such as he to find normalcy after combat.
Building Homes for Heroes (BHFH), a national 501(c)3 non-profit, builds or remodels homes for disabled or wounded veterans and gifts them mortgage-free. The program began to assist veterans following the events of Sept. 11 and the subsequent conflicts in the Middle East.
Jessica Baker, Texas Team leader with BHFH, said the goal of the program is to provide peace of mind for veterans. It also works to combat the issue of homelessness for veterans.
“We are slowly but surely making a meaningful impact to provide homes and families with a sense of stability, so they can focus on rebabiliation and not be bound by a mortgage payment or navigate a home they may not own,” Baker said.
Participants who apply must not own a home and must be 100-percent disabled, Baker said. While Baker said the program specializes in helping severely injured veterans, the program selects applicants on a case-by-case basis.
Baker said the program doesn’t turn veterans away, and there isn’t a veteran who’s more deserving than another.
Over 5,000 applications have been submitted nationwide since the program began, with over 2,000 of those seeking residence in Texas.
BHFH works with Chase Bank, which gifts foreclosed homes to the organization. From there, the organization works with selected applicants to ensure the home fits their needs and meets their checklist. That may require modifying the home to suit the veteran and his/her family.
Baker said the organization prioritizes the building of new homes for the most severely wounded or injured veterans.
BHFH has four foreclosed modified homes being gifted in Texas this year and will have two ground up construction builds.
Lathers’ persistence in checking on the program guided the BHFH staff to him, Baker said.
But the process for Lathers’ home took approximately two years, he said. Lathers and his family live in Schertz, located north of San Antonio, but he expressed interest in moving into the Kyle area.
BHFH notified Lathers he would be gifted a home in February. Lathers worked with BHFH to make sure the home was in the right place and could suit his needs.
For Lathers, the chance to walk through his new home left him in a dreamlike state.
“It’s hard to believe. It was like a dream. It feels like a dream,” Lathers said. “It’s pretty exciting and overwhelming, but for the better.”
Once the home is gifted, Baker said BHFH continues to check on the families, offering financial assistance and stewardship opportunities. Families can also network with other veterans who have been gifted homes as well.
The home also gives veterans a chance to focus on the road to recovery. Primarily, a chance to start the healing process and focus on life and a career after the military.
Lathers, who suffers from Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, said attempting to assimilate to civilian life after a wartime experience is “one of the hardest things there is.”
“It’s because you’re so used to everyday life in the military and then it changes,” Lathers said. “The biggest thing is the camaraderie. You lose all of the people you’re around every day.”
But Lathers also appreciated seeing support from the community, many of whom he’s never met.
“We’re excited because there was so much community involvement,” Lathers said. “That’s how I want to raise my kids, in an involved community.”
See more photos of the welcome ceremony here.
