For the bravest men and women of our nation, the transition from serving in the military to living everyday civilian life can be a difficult one. The shortage of affordable housing is a hurdle many military families face. A study by The Rand Corp. and Military Family Action Network reveals that 4 million veterans are considered housing cost-burdened and 1.5 million are living below the poverty line. In honor of Military Appreciation Month, Builder has gathered some of the many home builders who are currently building or have completed homes for military families and veterans.

Never Defeated

Mattamy Homes, No. 20 on the 2022 Builder 100, recently announced U.S. Army Golden Knight Staff Sgt. George Perez as the next recipient of Operation: Coming Home (OCH). While serving in the 82nd Airborne Division in Fallujah, Iraq, Perez was wounded after encountering a roadside improvised explosive device (IED). The explosion killed a team member and left Perez with multiple injuries resulting in the amputation of his left leg below the knee.

Yet, Perez had no desire to retreat from duty. As soon as he recovered enough, he rejoined training and pushed through to continue regular operations. In 2004, he rejoined the 82nd Airborne becoming the first amputee to qualify for static line jumps.

Mattamy Home’s Raleigh division will be building Perez and his family a brand-new home in the new Providence Creek community. The Perez home will feature an open-concept floor plan with a free-flowing gourmet kitchen, a dining area, a great room, and a screened-in porch. The home will include custom-built accommodations to improve his daily quality of life.

Operation: Coming Home is a partnership between members of the U.S. Veterans Corps, the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County, and various local nonprofits and businesses of the area. The team, made up of veterans and non-veterans, aims to honor severely wounded veterans of recent Middle East wars by building the homes at no charge.

This will be the third home donated by Mattamy Homes and the 11th from the Royal Oaks team, which was acquired by Mattamy Homes in 2017.

An Award of Home

U.S. Army Sgt. William McCoy joined the Army Infantry out of Inglewood, California, in 1999. Serving his country for over nine years, including two tours in Iraq and one tour in Afghanistan, he retired in 2009 receiving numerous awards including the Army Commendation Medal with V Device (2nd Award), the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary and Service Medal.

McCoy was recently surprised to learn that he will be the recipient of a brand-new mortgage-free home built by Centex, a national brand of PulteGroup, No. 3 on the 2022 Builder 100. Awarded through PulteGroup’s Built to Honor program, more than 75 PulteGroup employees, first responders and local veteran organizations celebrated as the McCoy family broke ground on their future home in the Santa Rosa Crossing community in Maricopa, Arizona.

“We are thrilled to make the dream of homeownership a reality for Sgt. McCoy, his wife Linda, and their son Solomon, and welcome them to the PulteGroup family,” says Rebecca Lundberg, president of PulteGroup’s Arizona division. “There is no better way to demonstrate our support and appreciation for our nation’s heroes than by doing what we do best: building homes.”

The new-construction single-family home will be 1,915 square feet, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The home will be ready for the McCoy family to move in this fall. At completion, this will be the third home dedicated in Arizona through the Built to Honor program.

Breaking Ground for More Families

Meritage Homes—No. 7 on the 2022 Builder 100—recently announced its renewed and extended partnership with Operation Homefront. The home builder plans to break ground on new homes in Houston; Nashville, Tennessee; and Tucson, Arizona, to place three deserving military families into brand-new, energy-efficient, and mortgage-free homes.

Meritage has partnered with Operation Homefront for nine years to build and donate homes through the Permanent Homes for Veterans program. After the completion of these three homes later this year, Meritage will have donated 17 homes to military families.

“We are honored, once again, to support the Permanent Homes for Veterans program this year. We appreciate the numerous vendors that will donate their time and materials to make these homes a reality,” says Phillippe Lord, CEO of Meritage Homes.

“We recognize the sacrifice military families make and the importance of having a house to come home to following their service. This hits especially close to home for all the veterans we have working across the organization who understand the assistance needed to transition back to civilian life. We are immensely proud to continue to champion Operation Homefront’s mission and provide three families the opportunity to have a safe, stable, and healthy home.”

All three homes will offer modern, open-concept floor plans with designer-curated interiors and comfort-enhancing features, including a multispeed HVAC system, spray-foam insulation, and energy-efficient windows.

Operation Homefront is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive—not simply struggle to get by—in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. Since 2012, Operation Homefront’s Permanent Homes for Veterans program has placed more than 700 military families in mortgage-free homes and deeded over $98 million in home equity. The three recipients for the new homes will be selected and keys will be presented prior to Veterans Day 2022.

“We are deeply grateful to Phillippe Lord and the entire Meritage Homes team for their very generous gift of three homes for our highly valued Permanent Homes for Veterans program,” says Brig. Gen. (ret.) John I. Pray Jr., president and CEO of Operation Homefront. “They clearly share our passion for serving this very special and deserving group of our fellow citizens and our belief that strong military families make their communities stronger, which in turn make America stronger.”

Operation Homefront recently launched a three-year, $100 million United We Stand campaign. Their goal is to generate the resources needed to secure the futures of military families for years to come.

Life-Changing News

Earlier this month, PulteGroup announced the construction of its 75th mortgage-free home. Through its Built to Honor program, PulteGroup broke ground on the new home in Dallas, which will be awarded to U.S. Army Sgt. David Speights.

“Our company’s Built to Honor program, that began in 2011 with a single home donated by our Dallas division, has grown into a national program through which we have now awarded 75 homes to deserving veterans and their families,” says PulteGroup President and CEO Ryan Marshall. “The Speights’ home represents a full-circle moment for us and the entire Dallas team, who paved the way for our Built to Honor program to become what it is today.”

PulteGroup’s Dallas division partnered with Building Homes for Heroes, a national nonprofit organization devoted to bringing renewed hope and service to injured veterans, to identify Speights. After touring Pulte’s Whitewing Trails community under the guise of a final interview in the selection process, Speights and his family were surprised by over 100 members of the Pulte team announcing the life-changing news that he had been awarded a new mortgage-free home.

“As soon as we met with Sgt. Speights and learned more about his heroic service in Afghanistan and life after the military, we knew he was the perfect person to receive this special home,” says Bryan Swindell, president of PulteGroup’s Dallas division. “Having already delivered five Built to Honor homes here in Dallas, we recognize the opportunity to say thank you to our nation’s heroes is always an honor and a privilege. Our team is proud to build and deliver the 75th home this fall, and excited to welcome the Speights family to the community just before the holiday season.”

Also in Texas, keys will be handed over to two more homes this week in Hockley. Through Operation Homefront’s Permanent Homes for Veterans program and PulteGroup’s Built to Honor initiative, former Army Spc. Kisha Dorsey and former Army Sgt. James Ford will enjoy their new, mortgage-free homes with their families.

Finally Home

In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Army Spc. Christopher Lewis has been gifted a mortgage free home through Building Homes for Heroes and PulteGroup. While serving in Iraq, Spc. Lewis’ company was 30 meters from an IED when it detonated. The explosion caused a traumatic brain injury, and he temporarily lost his hearing and sight. Later scans showed scarring that have severely affected his memory.

Serving for 10 years as the fifth generation of his family to enlist, he is the recipient of the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Good Conduct Medal, NATO Medal, National Defense Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and the Overseas Service Ribbon.

After his first night in the home, he shared this with Building Homes for Heroes:

“Well, last night was our first night in the home. I bought my first and most likely only bottle of Dom Perignon to celebrate. The children stayed mostly upstairs and or in their rooms for the evening. I took no offense to it. If I had a room that nice as a child, I would have stayed in my room as well. We sat out back with the sound of the waterfall to a fire, listened to music, talked, and marveled at the home from time to time. (Mainly me doing the marveling.) I woke up this morning to the sound of the children doing crafts and playing Jenga laughing. I recognized the room I was in and immediately smiled. It’s rare I wake up immediately in a good mood, but today I am in an amazing mood. It finally hit me realizing where I was, HOME! I wanted to reach out and give you all a snapshot of my first night and morning in the new home. THANK YOU all so much for what you’ve done for my family and me. I’ll never be able say it enough.”