Five Troops Get Free Homes
Five military families are about to move into metro Atlanta homes that had been in foreclosure.
Four are Army soldiers and one is a Marine, and each was forced out of the military by injuries. All have ties to Georgia, but were scattered all over the country.
At Stone Mountain Park Saturday, the five families gathered under a towering American flag. They had no idea what was about to happen.The audio version of this story, as aired on WABE's Morning Edition
“While y’all thought you were here for veterans’ employment, we actually brought you here for another reason,” said a voice from on-stage. ”And with that, our representatives from each pillar will unveil your new home.”
As the crowd roared, each veteran stood in shock beside a huge photo of the mortgage-free house they’d just been given.
Army Specialist Joe Wallace’s is a 2,300-sq. ft. two-story in Lawrenceville.
“It just means a lot. It’s always my dream and it’s finally come true,” he said.
Wallace, his wife and three children are now making plans to move from Alaska back to metro Atlanta.
The non-profit Operation Homefront, Wells Fargo and United Rentals worked together to donate the homes.
Other metro Atlanta Vets Remain Homeless
Despite success stories like the one this weekend, a large number of veterans in metro Atlanta are homeless.
“There were about 1,237 veterans that were deemed to be homeless in the 2011 count, the last count we have,” said Ed Jennings, the Southeast regional director for the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
But Jennings says federal programs, in partnership with the City of Atlanta, are chipping away at that number. He points to a recent initiative from mayor Kasim Reed.
“He had a boot camp a few months ago that had a target of 100 people to be housed. He was able to house 150,” said Jennings.
Last September, Reed said he would end homelessness among Atlanta’s veterans by the end of this year.
The Obama administration has said it will end chronic homelessness among vets by 2015.
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