Finding housing is a growing challenge for many people in the U.S. It is particularly acute for those with disabilities, including military veterans. SPR's Kyrsten Weber, spoke with Bill Ivey, executive director of Homes for Our Troops and a 30-year veteran himself.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
Kyrsten Weber: Tell us about Homes for our Troops. This is not an organization that I had heard of before.
Bill Ivey: Homes for our Troops is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that builds and donates specially adapted custom homes nationwide for the most severely injured veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan to enable them to rebuild their lives. The reason you haven't heard about us is we work very hard to keep nearly 90 cents of every dollar that we spend going to the mission of buying land, building specially adapted homes, and staying in contact with our veterans.
KW: How many homes has Homes for our Troops provided so far?
BI: When we finish Josh's home on Saturday, that will be home number 437 in 46 states.
KW: That's remarkable. Tell us about the event that's coming up on Saturday and the individual who's benefiting.
BI: Saturday at 10 o'clock in Loon Lake, we're going to have a key ceremony for Marine Sergeant Josh Elliott and his wife Samantha to celebrate him, to hand him the keys to his new home, and to have the neighbors and friends and family in to welcome him to their new forever home.
KW: How many other vets in the Northwest have you worked with in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Western Montana?
BI: This will be the 11th home we've built in Washington. We've got a couple in Idaho, a couple in Oregon, and a couple in Montana.
KW: What sort of adaptations have been made in this particular home?
BI: This home is completely accessible to Josh when he's in his wheelchair. He is a double-leg amputee, and so although he does pretty well on his prosthetics, your lower legs are not made for sustaining your body's weight. I've been to the modified trailer home they live in now, and just getting in requires three or four steps. He's looking forward to being able to do everything in the home.
He's a big cook, loves to cook. This kitchen will be completely accessible to him with a roll-under sink, roll-under countertops for working, roll-under stove top, and an oven that is placed a little bit lower in the cabinetry, so that's right at that level for him.
The home has over 40 major adaptations. It has a roll-in shower that the veterans really like. They can roll in, transfer from their chair to a bench, take a shower, not get the chair wet, not rely on somebody else to assist them. Doorways and hallways are obviously wider. We build our homes with a floor that is luxury vinyl plank, because carpet is not your friend when you're pushing a wheelchair.
KW: The event on Saturday, who all is invited to that?
BI: Anybody who would like to come is invited. Again, we believe the community is absolutely vital to our veterans rebuilding their lives, getting the neighbors in, opportunity to meet Josh and Sam, and really wrap their arms around them in the community. That's why we build where the veterans want to live. We don't buy the lot until the veteran personally approves it.
KW: How can people get involved with the work that Homes for Our Troops do?
BI: We tell folks there's three main things you could do for Homes for Our Troops. Number one is welcome our veterans into your community. Number two, tell people we exist. We rely on the American public to get the word out. So spreading that word through social media, through opportunities like this, talking to their neighbors, family, folks at work. And then, of course, the third way is to donate or fundraise for us. That's always well appreciated also.
KW: How many of the people who are a part of Homes for Our Troops are veterans themselves?
BI: We have 75 people at Homes for Our Troops, and we have nine veterans working there. When I got to Homes for Our Troops 12 years ago, I was only the fourth guy out of 42 who had ever served. Everybody else really had no connection other than everybody's grandfather was in World War II, especially my age, and was everybody's father. So it really is a great group of Americans. They're here for the mission to take care of these great men and women that were injured fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.