A new roof at no cost for an Army veteran

By Emma Peterson. 

Purple Heart Homes, TCL Roofing and Owens Corning come together to keep U.S. Army veteran Jim Ward and his wife safe and dry. 

Jim and Sherry Ward knew they needed a new roof, but what they didn’t know was how they could make that happen. Sherry told The Morning Journal, “We knew the roof was bad, but we didn’t know how we were going to fix it. It just kept deteriorating.” Luckily, a friend had heard about Purple Heart Homes and recommended that the Ward’s apply.  

Purple Heart Homes is a nonprofit that partners with local contractors to keep veterans safe. With a focus on disabled and honorably discharged individuals, they try to help those who need home repairs and restoration. John Keating, the president of the organization’s Northeast Ohio chapter explained, “Our mission is to keep them safe in their house by repairing things that are broken or causing them some danger. It’s become a labor of love for most of us.”  

After hearing about the organization’s mission, and with Jim’s service in the Army and during the Vietnam War, Sherry knew they had to try applying, though she was trying to keep her expectations low. Little did she know, anything she could’ve expected was about to be blown out of the water.  

When Purple Heart Homes’ local partner, TCL Roofing and Restoration, came to inspect the home, they found that it would cost $20,000 to repair due to exterior and interior damage. They knew this was a project they had to take on. Purple Heart Homes helped coordinate TCL Roofing to provide labor and worked with the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project to get supplies for the project. Not only were they able to repair the main house’s roof, but they also fixed the roof of the detached garage. 

The Ward’s were beyond grateful. Sherry said, “We are so grateful, and so blessed. This world is so full of wonderful people. These people need to be recognized for all the good they do.” In response, John simply said, “Veterans have kind of a code of honor where you don’t leave them behind. If we can help, that’s all the reward we need.” 

Image source: The Morning Journal