Habitat’s HPP ramps up to help disabled vet
This past Memorial Day, Habitat Hillsborough launched its “Veterans Initiative,” a program for veterans in need of an affordable home, home repair or looking to get involved in their community.
On June 14th, an opportunity arose for our Veterans Initiative to collaborate with our Home Preservation Program (HPP) and come together to help a disabled veteran in need of a ramp better suited to his needs for his home in Thonotosassa.
This project was for local veteran Thomas Sendoya, who served in the 82nd airborne from 1972 to 1975. Thomas is in the late stages of COPD and hasn’t been able to leave his home in over 3 months because the ramp currently attached to his home is too steep. Through HPP, the project was organized by program coordinator Jeremy Cooke and Habitat compliance manager Nitza Rivera. Volunteers from two veterans groups were recruited to help and funding for the project was made possible through a veterans grant from Home Depot.
Long time Habitat Hillsborough volunteers Bob and Doris Meyer led the team of volunteers from The Mission Continues and Team Rubicon to construct the more accessible ramp for Mr. Sendoya. By the end of the day, Mr. Sendoya had a brand new ramp that better serves his needs and he is now able to safely leave his home!
And the good works don’t end there! The crew transported the original ramp (which is decent, but did not meet Mr. Sendoya’s needs) to serve the needs of another veteran, Mr. Canty in Lutz.
Many thanks to all who stepped up to help serve someone who has served!
Visit our Veterans Initiative or HPP pages to learn more about both of these Habitat programs!
