A disabled Marine veteran said he has a more positive outlook on life after his Long Island, New York, community surprised him with a state-of-the-art custom-built home.
Neighbors, donors, and volunteers all pitched in so retired Marine Lance Cpl. William “Billy” Ventura could have a place he could call home, CBS New York reported.
Three years into Ventura’s Marine service, he was on home leave when Ventura was involved in a hit-and-run accident that severed his lower spine and caused him to lose the ability to walk.
The entire community of Selden, Long Island, in New York and the Bolla Charity Foundation worked together for more than nine months to surprise Ventura and give him the state-of-the-art home that could enable him to live more independently.
Bolla Charity partnered with Building Homes for Heroes to make the job possible.
“There’s a lot that I can’t do, but the house now will allow me to. I have a great future,” Billy Ventura said.
Ventura is not the first wounded Marine veteran to receive a home catered to his needs free of charge.
In October 2019, a wounded Marine who fought in the Iraq War received a mortgage-free home thanks to Building Homes for Heroes, and in December 2019, a wounded Navy Seal received a mortgage-free home from the same nonprofit.