Purple Heart Homes is a local nonprofit helping veterans with home and job opportunities.
HARRISBURG, N.C. — Vietnam veteran Mike Stubbs never expected anyone would help him replace his aging roof, but a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting veterans surprised him with a complete home renovation that would have cost him $20,000.
Purple Heart Homes, which provides home solutions and employment opportunities for veterans nationwide, completed the roof replacement in a single day through their aging-in-place program.
“I actually mentioned something to John—if you ever need someone that needs a roof, and I said that’s never gonna happen. Things like that don’t happen for me,” Stubbs said.
The project required extensive work that Stubbs couldn’t afford on his own. “It was gonna be $20,000 to have this house reroofed,” he said.
What typically takes several days was completed by volunteers in one marathon session. “They did the whole complete house in one day. Those young men started at 6:30 that morning, and they worked til after nine that night,” Stubbs said.
The work came at no cost to the veteran, leaving him stunned by the generosity. “He told me that they wanted to put a roof on my house and I said I know you’re kidding me. And next thing I know it started falling into place, the companies involved were incredible,” Stubbs said.
Purple Heart Homes’ mission extends beyond roof repairs to comprehensive veteran assistance, including home renovations, appliances, and job opportunities. The organization also offers a unique housing program for veterans in need.
“We’ve donated homes which we rehab to whatever the need of a veteran might be, and we have a 50% mortgage model whereby we put the veteran in the home for half of the final appraised value,” said Paul Cockerham, Purple Heart Homes Chief Development Officer.
The aging-in-place program focuses on critical home repairs based on health, safety and accessibility needs. “Critical home repair need for Mr. Stubbs was a new roof,” Cockerham explained.
Veterans seeking assistance can apply through the organization’s website for various programs. “There’s an application there for whatever program you’re applying for. The bulk of what we do is our aging in place program—it’s the critical home repair need,” Cockerham said.
For Stubbs, the experience restored his faith in community support for veterans. “It’s amazing what they do for the veterans,” he said.
More information about Purple Heart Homes programs and applications for benefits can be found on the organization’s website.
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