A U.S. Marine Corps. veteran broke ground on his custom home Saturday, which will be completed by this summer thanks to the nonprofit Homes for Our Troops.
Homes for Our Troops is helping to build a custom home for Sgt. Chris Hancock, who lost both legs serving in the Afghanistan War and had trouble getting around his current home.
“I have to look first at the walls to see how close I am to avoid scraping the wall with my wheelchair,” Hancock told WCTI.
Homes for Our Troops Executive Director Billy Ivey said the organization’s mission is to build homes that are custom-built for “severely injured veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan” who often have mobility issues.
“It really restores the freedom and independence that they sacrificed in Iraq or Afghanistan when they were injured,” Ivey said.
Hancock said he is grateful for the space his custom home will provide and that a simple “thanks” would not be enough to show his gratitude.
Hancock’s story is not uncommon, especially among nonprofits and anonymous donors that donate homes to veterans.
In January 2020, an anonymous donor gifted a $500,000 home to a veteran through a Santa Clarita, California, veterans’ organization.
The nonprofit Building Homes for Heroes donated a home free-of-charge to a Navy SEAL in December 2019, and the Military Warriors Support Foundation gifted a mortgage-free home to an injured Army veteran in November 2019.