Meet two veterans continuing to put themselves at the front lines as essential workers during COVID-19
Meet Jorge
Jorge works as a respiratory therapist which, as you can imagine, comes with very high COVID-19 risk exposure.
An Army veteran, Jorge moved into the Santa Clarita Veteran Enriched Neighborhood® in 2016. He is a single father to his 16-year-old daughter.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was working at two different healthcare providers—two incomes he depended upon. He currently only works at just one, in order to limit possible cross-contamination between the two patient bases. While he remains committed to helping people and to still be working, his income is significantly reduced.
Thanks to the Homes4Families model and CalVet, Jorge has an affordable mortgage. He and his daughter depend on the other veterans living in his neighborhood for emotional support. He is grateful too for the help that community donors can provide to the Veteran Family Service Fund.
Meet Ernesto
You may remember Ernesto from our recent episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on HGTV.
This Marine Corps veteran is continuing to work through the COVID-19 crisis for the U.S. Navy. Ernesto supports the navy in mission-critical assignments as a logs and records clerk. These are important jobs that need to be done during the crisis as military support becomes part of the National response.
Though you saw their home being built, Ernesto, his wife, and their two children are currently waiting to move into the Palmdale Veteran Enriched Neighborhood® until lights and water services are fully installed. Homes 4 Families is in the process of installing utilities for the entire project, and will build the first phase of homes for veterans who will become Ernesto’s neighbors.
Ernesto and Jorge are just one of thousands of veterans and military family members who are continuing to work essential jobs during the COVID-19 crisis.
Your help is needed to build the homes of Ernesto’s neighbors. These are low-income veterans who may be at the brink of homelessness or living in severely substandard conditions. The more money we can raise, the quicker we can build and move these deserving veterans into their new, affordable homes. Or you can choose to support Jorge and his neighbors with basic needs and access to resources. These families all have stable and affordable housing, but are not immune to job loss and increased costs during this crisis.
This upcoming Tuesday, May 5th, we celebrate #GivingTuesdayNow, a global day of unity to respond to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19.
Help us give thanks to those on the front lines and others working essential jobs to keep us safe and moving through this crisis by donating today.