Air Force retired technical sergeant Leonard Anderson, who was disabled while serving in Afghanistan, recently received a custom-built home with assistance from the nonprofit Helping a Hero.
Anderson and his family settled into a 2,700 square-foot home in Van Alstyne, Texas, in recent days, the Dallas-area news website InForney.com reported on March 27.
Stonehollow Homes custom built the residence, in partnership with Helping a Hero, to meet Anderson’s unique physical needs. He lost his left arm and the majority of his right hand and suffered leg damage while on duty in Afghanistan in 2012 in an IED blast. The veteran is now reliant upon a wheelchair and finds simple tasks, such as opening a door, to be challenging in traditionally built homes.
“Little things such as a circle doorknob that I can’t get a grip on and turn… all the things that would make normal everyday living easier,” Anderson told InForney.com.
Ryan Hayes, a designer at Stonehollow Homes, told the website that his company addressed Anderson’s concerns when creating and building his new space.
“We had to actually extend the house, widen the home, to create hall space, sink knee spaces. That way, he can eventually pull up to the sink with his wheelchair,” he said.
Hayes added that the builder “widen[ed] the shower[s]” and “brace[ed] everything for handicapped bars around toilets” and also sloped shower floors.
Anderson told the outlet that he looked forward to preparing a home-cooked meal in his new residence upon moving in. “I’m going to make a big dinner! I love to cook!”
Helping a Hero, which supported the home build, is a “501(c)(3) non profit, non-partisan organization, founded in 2006, that provides support for military personnel severely injured in the Global war on terror,” according to its website’s mission statement.
“Our principal activity is to provide specially adapted homes for qualifying service members through partnerships made with the builders, developers, communities, and the veteran,” the organization states.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
