A disabled veteran received keys Tuesday to a brand new home in Irving courtesy of the nonprofit group Operation Finally Home.
Volunteers responsible for building the home said soaring inflation and current supply chain shortages make the job more challenging now.
“All the effort that they put in is amazing to me,” said Velez. “I couldn’t have asked for anything better."
She and her son, Spencer, got their first look inside the new home in Irving Tuesday morning.
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Velez returned from two tours of duty in Iraq with 90% disability from the trauma she witnessed. She and her son have been living in her mom’s house in Duncanville.
Spencer was excited after seeing his room in the new house. He will also have his own bathroom.
“We've been sharing the same room for a couple years, with the pandemic and everything,” she said.
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News cameras followed the mom and son around as they toured their new house for the first time, but she welcomed the publicity for Operation Finally Home because she said there are many more veterans in need.
“This organization is volunteers, their time, their energy, their money. The more people that know about the program, the more people will give to it,” she said.
There was an Irving Police motorcycle escort as they arrived to tour the new home on South Britain Road in the oldest part of Irving. Other new construction is happening nearby.
They received a personal greeting from Irving Mayor Rick Stopfer. The City of Irving donated the lot and has several more lots lined up for additional veteran homes.
“This something we really want to do. We really want to be able to do something for the soldiers who have gotten the challenges in their life, for everything they’ve done,” Stopfer said.
And there was a big celebration and ribbon cutting because this was the 200th home completed by Operation Finally Home.
The group’s North Texas leader Ronnie Lyles spoke about Velez’s service in Iraq at the ceremony.
“She worked at both a mobile unit and a fixed hospital unit and I just can’t imagine what you saw and what you went through,” he said. “Please know this is not a free home. This is something you’ve earned.”
The Dallas Homebuilders Association is a partner in the nonprofit effort.
Matt Walls with Winston Custom Homes oversaw this home construction. He cited soaring material prices and uncertainty for contractors.
“Every day is a new day. We never know what we're not going to get. We never know which contractor is not going to show up,” Walls said. “Some of them have gone out of business because of the whole stress and strain of the building industry right now.”
But the job was completed for Velez and her son.
“When people do stuff like this from their heart, it shows, and they've been really great,” she said.
To help put her post-traumatic stress disorder from combat medicine behind her, Velez said she has given up on a career in nursing and switched to a new career, helping people in a different way.
“I found my happy place again. I’m in the beauty industry. I was able to start my own business. I take care of people, just making them pretty, nails, waxing, lashes, whatever they need to feel better about themselves. And that has put me in a better head state than I could have ever imagined. If I was still in the medical field I would still be in the darker place,” she said.
And she and Spencer are starting a new life in Irving.
Nebraska Furniture Mart supplied furniture for her house.
Leaders of Operation Finally Home said they have nearly 200 more projects in the works. Some are remodeling to help disabled veterans live in existing homes.
ONLINE: Read more about Operation Finally Home and see how to help.
