OPERATION: COMING HOME

Operation: Coming Home builds and gives away homes with the help of our local home builders and subcontractors. The organization has worked with builders such as CalAtlantic Homes, Chesapeake Homes, Fresh Paint by Garman Homes, Pulte Homes/Centex, Lennar Homes, M/I Homes, and Royal Oaks Building Group.

Since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF – Iraq) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF – Afghanistan)

Over 35,000 men and women have been wounded in combat, about half were so severely wounded they were not returned to duty. Many of the wounded sustained gunshot wounds, permanent loss of limbs, paralysis and severe neck and head trauma. These men and women will forever bare the scars of protecting our way of life and the freedom we enjoy.

In 2007 a group of local veterans and members from the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County decided to create a project for these severely wounded veterans. The mission of this project is to aid a local military service member who were severely wounded in combat, by fulfilling his/her family desire to live the American Dream of home ownership—thus the creation of Operation: Coming Home (OCH). In addition, a team of US veterans produced and directed the Operation: Coming Home Key Ceremony event for the HBA. When the keys were delivered and the event ended there was a strong urge from these Veterans to continue the mission; thus the creation of the US Veterans Corps.

In 2008, Operation: Coming Home enlisted the help of Royal Oaks Building Group, Atreus Homes, and Gaines and Company to build a new home for SGT Joey Bozik, a wounded soldier of the 16th Military Police, who lost both legs and one arm in Iraq when his Humvee hit a road side bomb.

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OCH provided SGT Bozik with a home that was customized to meet his precise needs due to his combat injuries. It was equipped with zero threshold floors, wider doorways, custom shower, special ramps, sprinkler system, and a custom kitchen with appliances set to accommodate someone in a wheelchair. The home, its customized features have enabled Joey and his young family a way to live a more normal life even with his injuries.

Operation: Coming Home started with a groundbreaking ceremony on May 30, 2008 in the Southern Oaks subdivision of Fuquay-Varina, NC where Gaines and Company had donated a lot to build this soldiers home.

This program has been a huge success only because many caring organizations and individuals who willingly contribute their time, effort and finances to show their heartfelt thanks to our local veterans who gave their all to protect our American way of life—a freedom seldom experienced throughout the rest of the world!

We at OCH and the rest of the American population owe a huge debt of gratitude to our military forces! There is no better way to exemplify that than by all of us participating in perpetuating Operation: Coming Home by giving other American Heroes a completely free home of their own.

The board of OCH and the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake county continue to select new recipients. We continue to reply on the donations and sponsorships of individuals and companies as well as labor and supplies to continue making this program the great success that it is. This becomes our way to contribute as much as we possibly can—for our heroes who have done that for us.

For questions about OCH, please contact Andy Ladner of the U.S. Veterans Corps at (919) 818-9609.

Apply For A Hero Home

Hero Home Application Requirements

  • Must be a U.S. combat operations veteran, who was physically injured in the Middle East conflicts.
  • Must not currently own a home. (The Hero Home is a 6 year commitment. This home will be built in a neighborhood where the lot has been donated by one of our developers.)
  • Must allow for OCH to perform both a credit and criminal background check.

If you meet the above initial requirements, please click the button below to Apply for a Hero Home. Your application will then be reviewed. We will contact you if you are considered for selection.

Our Next Event

Raise the Roof Ceremony

TBD
10:00am

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