Helping local Veterans with critical repairs

Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley has been serving our neighbors in more ways each year, and continues to grow our investment in the community. In the last few years, Habitat’s Home Improvement Program increased services to empower military, veterans and their families by providing critical repairs and energy-saving improvements.

Roughly 1.4 million veterans are considered at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks and dismal living conditions. Habitat’s Veterans Program is designed to provide affordable critical repairs, reduce monthly energy bills and provide stability for Veterans who own their homes in Washtenaw County. Improvements, such as a free refrigerator replacement or furnace test and tune, can help veterans and their families live comfortably, while critical repairs, such as walk-in showers, accessibility improvements and roof replacements can ensure our veterans are living in safe and stable homes.

Thanks to Veterans Program partners like The Home Depot Foundation and First Nation Group, Habitat is able to serve veterans like Francis, who has difficulty with mobility, and his wife Ella, who were in dire need of an accessible, safe bathroom. Prior to Habitat’s involvement, the couple’s bathroom sink was too low and water had damaged the shower, making it challenging to get in and out of. There were no grab bars, the bathroom floor and joists had been damaged by water.

“We completely gutted the bathroom down to the studs, where we discovered that the wall and floor around the shower had become water damaged, especially around the window,” said Martha Davis, Senior Director of Home Improvement. “We replaced the damaged wood, installed new drywall, flooring and painted the walls. We then installed a barrier-free, walk-in shower with grab bars and a handheld shower head.”

Additionally, Habitat installed a new taller toilet and additional accessibility features to make the couple’s bathroom safe and easier to use.

In other cases, such as Sharon’s, Habitat is able to provide critical costly repairs like a new roof. Sharon is a veteran who lives alone and prides herself on doing things herself. Due to an ongoing illness, she was unable to keep up with home repairs and was in desperate need of a new roof and awning repair. Habitat replaced Sharon’s roof, repaired her awning and provided additional critical repairs to her bathroom and kitchen faucet.

In the last year, Habitat helped 15 local veterans and their families with critical repairs, but our Veterans Program would not be possible without support. To learn more or make a donation, click here. To learn more or apply for our Veterans Program, click here.