Rebuilding Together Broward helps injured Iraqi vet with home
Sears’ Heroes at Home program and Rebuilding Together Broward, part of the nation’s leading volunteer home-rehabilitation organization, have completed a home improvement project for Hugo Gonzalez, an injured Iraqi veteran living with 
his wife and three daughters in Pembroke Pines. The project was part of the Heroes at Homesm grant awarded to the Broward affiliate of Rebuilding Together, which seeks to improve the lives of American military families in need by making necessary repairs, improvements or modifications to their homes.
To celebrate the completion, Rebuilding Together Broward invited prominent guests to the home. Among those in attendance were City of Pembroke Pines Commissioner Iris Siple; Rebuilding Together Broward Board members and executives; Cynthia Woodruff and Brian Annis, representatives from the Rebuilding Together national office in Washington, DC; and Tina Mulligan of the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers, who was instrumental in helping the Gonzalez family with their loan modification. Neighbors and volunteers also came to show support.
Since Gonzalez contacted Rebuilding Together Broward County in December, the organization has been able to help the family keep their home by preventing foreclosure, secure a public adjuster to work with an insurance claim, and make the necessary upgrades and renovations to the home.
Improvements included repairs to part of the home’s foundation which was damage in a car accident; interior walls, electrical repairs and the building of a fence behind the house to allow his children to play in the backyard safely. There were also general improvements to aid Gonzalez, who lost most of his sight after suffering a near fatal injury fighting in Iraq, to move about his home.
The recipient of the Purple Heart Medal of Honor, Gonzalez was stationed overseas as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom when an explosion critically injured him, rendering him blind in his right eye with less than 10% vision left in his left and a severe brain injury. Recovery time was spent at the Walter Reed Medical Center, where he was subsequently diagnosed with a post traumatic epileptic condition.
“We are very pleased and proud to team with Sears to assist military families in our community,” stated Sandra Veszi, executive director of Rebuilding Together Broward County. “Hugo bravely fought for our country’s freedom, and it is such a joy for us to be able to improve his quality of life and allow his family to live safely and comfortably.”
Sears’ Heroes at Home program provides support to service members, veterans and their families through joint efforts with Rebuilding Together. Sears Holdings has spearheaded nationwide fundraising efforts over the past several years which have raised more than $8 million through Heroes at Home. Heroes at Home and Rebuilding Together have helped hundreds of military families across America and the commitment continues as Sears Holdings’ support the men and women who serve our country.
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