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Honoring Veterans: Roland's Story

Veterans Day comes once a year, but Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia honors our veterans year round through our Home Repair Program’s partnership with The Home Depot Foundation.

Thanks to their generous funding, we are able to perform critical home repairs for veterans like Roland throughout Philadelphia.

Roland is a United States Army Veteran and a retired civil servant. He has been living in his family home in Mantua since his mother passed away in 2000, and his family has owned the home since 1953. As a veteran and seven-year retiree from the United States Post Office, Roland knows what it means to work hard and serve. And it runs in the family: His father served in the Navy during World War II, his brother and son in the Air Force, and another brother in the Army. Roland was actually one of the last men drafted into the Army – he was working at the shipyard in the 1970s when he came home to the notice. He proudly served and went on to continue to serve our nation through the IRS, Department of Defense, and most recently the US Post Office.

 

 
 
HOPE FROM HABITAT

Now that he’s retired, Roland looked around and realized that his home – the home that he’s been living in since childhood and that his own four children grew up in – is in desperate need of repair.

Roland’s first option was to forget his retirement and take on a part time job that would help him slowly save for the repairs he needed. But then, he found out about Habitat’s veterans repair program, and he was given hope.

“I have a peace of mind knowing that the work is going to be done and done correctly,” Roland says. He loves working with the “friendly, courteous, professional, and punctual” staff at Habitat.

According to Roland, Habitat’s work “makes the neighborhood look better, which brings up the property value.” Roland is so thankful for the work the Habitat has done and the money he has saved in the process. Roland is so grateful to Habitat for repairing the things he could not do himself including the roof, porch roof, kitchen, plumbing, basement bath, and ventilation in his home.

Roland can now get back to enjoying his retirement. And for someone who has served for most of his life, he certainly deserves it.