BEDFORD CO., Va. – Thursday was a big day for a local combat-wounded veteran, Brian Moore, and his wife, Raquel. The couple was handed the keys to their forever home, thanks to Purple Heart Homes.
Moore and his wife were gifted the keys to their new home after previously living in a renovated shed.
“We’ve been in there four years without running water, so we have a portajohn, we heat water over a fire to do the dishes,” Brian Moore said.
Moore served three tours with the U.S. Army and was wounded at the end of his third tour in Iraq.
“Like so many veterans, Brian was out serving the community and doing what he does best — he was serving other people,” said John Gallina, CEO and co-founder of Purple Heart Homes.
And now, his community is serving him back.
“To be able to get up in the middle of the night and just be able to go to the bathroom inside the building is awesome,” Raquel Moore said. “It’s gonna save a lot of time.”
Purple Heart Homes made the project possible, completing and gifting their first tiny home in Virginia.
“We think about our veterans and putting words like ‘thank you for your service’ into action and really putting the honor to action,” Gallina said. “It’s about how we as a community can come together and serve those that have already served us.”
While this is their first completed tiny home in the state, Purple Heart Homes has been serving veterans in Virginia for the last 18 years.
“Collectively, we’ve served 1,580 veterans all across the U.S., and around 65 veterans in the state of Virginia,” Gallina said.
“It’s just such a blessing,” Raquel Moore said. “It is overwhelming at times.”