America's long-lasting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have
resulted in a large population of returning veterans, some of them
disabled, who need housing. In the town of League City, Texas, just
a few miles from the Galveston Bay, one organization has sprung up
to help meet that need. They're calling it "Operation Finally
Home."
Founded in 2005 by League City homebuilder Dan Wallrath and a
handful of fellow builders in the area, the Bay Area Builders
Association Support Our Troops (BABASOT) has the mission "to
provide custom made homes to wounded and disabled veterans and the
widows of the fallen in an effort to get their lives back on track
and become productive members of their communities," according to
the group's website. "BABASOT partners with corporate sponsors,
individuals (sic) contributors, and volunteers to help severely
wounded heroes and their families' (sic) transition from the
battlefront to the home front." Fox News featured the story in
August, 2010 ("
Building
Homes for Wounded Heroes"). At that time, four homes had been
completed;
Operation Finally
Home is now up to more than a dozen houses, with more on the
drawing board.
Click here to see
the stories of some of the returning service members who have
received new homes.
Builders, veterans, and their familiesat groundbreaking ceremonies for home projects managed by
Operation Finally Home, a Texas-based non-profit supplying housing
for veterans returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Top,
Aly Wilson, daughter of veteran Johnny Wilson (center) breaks
ground with builder Richard Filip. Bottom, veteran Colton Read
(center) and wife Jessica Read (right), along with builders Steven
Davis, Daniel Vargas, and Jimmy Jacobs. Photos by Dawn
Birdsong.
At the Builders Show in Orlando this month, Coastal Connection
met with Operation Finally Home staff, along with veterans who have
benefited from the effort. Air Force Vet Colton Read (shown in the
photo above), who gets around in a wheelchair, says he thinks the
best thing about his new home, still under construction, might turn
out to be the carport and ADA-compliant entryway. “Where I
live now,” he explained, “if it’s raining when I
get home, it’s hard to get from the truck to my house without
getting soaked.”
Operation Finally Home needs help from builders, developers,
suppliers, and the general public. Interested parties can find out
how to get involved at this
BABASOT page.