Veterans Disability Lawyer
In 2008, two vets pooled their
military disability payments to launch Purple Heart Homes, a nonprofit
company which modifies or helps work on homes for disabled vets on the East
Coast.
Dale Beatty, a vet with
prosthetic legs from his time in combat in Iraq , spent a year recovering at Walter Reed, then
came home. He had planned to build a house for his wife and children when he
returned home, but working in construction with prosthetic legs, and sometimes
in a wheelchair, made working harder than he had planned on. Members of his
church stepped in and helped build a wheelchair-accessible home for Beatty
while he supervised. Beatty also called a building contractor and friend, John
Gallina, who had suffered a traumatic brain injury while driving a Humvee in Iraq – in the
same blast that cost Beatty his legs. Beatty, Gallina and the work crew
finished Beatty's home, and the project was such a success that the two men
decided to "pay it forward" for other disabled veterans. They have so far worked on homes for 17
disabled vets. Thousands more, says Beatty, could use similar help.
Though many nonprofit groups have
developed to offer housing assistance specially too vets of Iraq and Afghanistan
veterans, the two wars only account for less than 15 percent of the vets in the
U.S.
The organization formed by Beatty and Gallina is offering assistance to any
disabled vet from any military service, including Bosnia ,
Kosovo , Vietnam , and the Gulf War. One such
veteran was Dave Morrell, based in North
Carolina . Morrell lost a leg due to Agent Orange
exposure during his three tours in Vietnam . His home was not accessible; he often had to
crawl into his bathroom because his wheelchair wouldn't fit through the
doorway. Though they simply could have widened the doorways, they instead built
a new addition to the home and a new, accessible bathroom.
Purple Heart Homes uses labor and
materials donated by the public to help any disabled vet, from building ramps
to renovating bathrooms. They also make repairs for free.
Beatty and Gallina have stated
that they also aim to help vets purchase their own homes. Purple Heart Homes
has built several custom homes, and also has a program which moves vets into
foreclosed properties that have been donated by banks and renovated by
volunteers. The community involvement is a huge part of Purple Heart Homes'
approach; bringing local people into the projects helps to build social
connection.
Purple Heart Homes currently had
12 new projects currently under construction, and 13 more scheduled soon.
For more information about Purple
Heart Homes, go to purplehearthomesusa.org.
Source
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/14/us/cnnheroes-beatty-veterans-homes/index.html
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