Branden Cason and his family were handed the keys to a new home in Anna, Texas, on Veterans Day, a fresh start for a veteran who was medically retired from the Army after sustaining a traumatic brain injury and other wounds in an improvised explosive device blast during a deployment to Iraq. The home came through Operation Homefront's Permanent Homes for Veterans program, with support from homebuilder Pulte, and the Cason family will own it outright, mortgage-free, once they complete the program.
Cason enlisted in the Army as an infantryman in 2007, planning on a 20-year career before his injuries cut that path short just a few years in, according to The National Desk. The outlet reports that the Cason household includes four people, and that the family lost its Texas home to a flood before spending time living in three travel trailers. KBAK dates that flood to 2016, while Military.com reports the flash flooding that damaged the family's foundation and septic system struck in May 2015 and says Cason, his wife Vanessa and their three children lived in RVs for more than nine years before eventually selling the damaged property for what they owed on it.
A Program Built on Patience, Not Just a Gift
Operation Homefront's Permanent Homes for Veterans program does not hand over a home outright. Families receive a donated, mortgage-free home only after successfully completing a two-year process, according to Operation Homefront. During those two years, the family meets with an Operation Homefront caseworker and a financial planner every three months, and the organization's website notes that recipients should still expect to cover ordinary costs of ownership such as property taxes, insurance, warranty fees and HOA dues.
Operation Homefront CEO Alan Reyes, a retired Navy rear admiral who served 32 years, described the Cason family as showing incredible resilience and said their story illustrates the ups and downs that come with military service, the station's report notes. Reyes said Veterans Day offers a chance to reflect on the service and sacrifice made by service members and their families, and he argued that society has an obligation and responsibility to support veterans once they come home.
A Nonprofit With a National Reach
Operation Homefront describes itself as a national nonprofit veterans' support organization that also runs food security programs, back-to-school kits and financial assistance beyond its housing work. Since the Permanent Homes for Veterans program began in 2012, more than 730 veterans have entered it, per the same account from Operation Homefront, and the organization says it has housed over 700 veteran families in that span while providing about $110 million in home equity to those families. Its own site similarly puts the program's total home equity delivered at more than $109 million in Operation Homefront's accounting of its work.
Reyes said the organization serves roughly 25,000 to 30,000 military and veteran families each year, funded by individual donors and corporate partners, with about 85% of expenditures going directly toward delivering programs and services. He said the goal behind those programs is to provide strength, stability and security for military and veteran families, and he encouraged people to visit Operation Homefront's website to find ways to volunteer.
Another Veteran Family Gets Keys the Same Day
The Cason family's handoff wasn't the only Permanent Homes for Veterans ceremony timed to Veterans Day. In Gulfport, Mississippi, homebuilder Meritage Homes and Operation Homefront announced a mortgage-free home donation to Navy veteran Maggie Coleman and her family, according to a GlobeNewswire release. Coleman and her family were set to receive their keys at a Veterans Day ceremony hosted by Meritage and Operation Homefront, with the release noting the Gulfport home marks Meritage's 23rd home donation to date.
