New affordable homes to be built for veterans in Yorkville

Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity has a new initiative to build 116 affordable homes for veterans on 50 acres in Yorkville, Illinois.

Operation Home America will provide affordable homeownership opportunities for military veterans and their families, 34% of whom are struggling to live on 30-80% of median household income.

The single-family houses and duplexes will be built by and for veterans with assistance from Habitat for Humanity volunteers and professional builders. A community center at the heart of the village will provide programming and supportive services to a diverse community of veterans from the Korean War to recent discharges.

Flags in Public Plaza. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania

Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity will build a whole community of homes for veterans like Lawella Szweda, an Airforce Veteran who served on active duty for four years. After a divorce, she found herself having to file for bankruptcy, and then homeless. No one would rent to her. She found Habitat, applied, and got accepted into the program.

“Habitat not only changed my life, but it changed my children’s life,” Lawella said in this video interview.

The 50-acre parcel has streets and infrastructure already from an abandoned development project. The $5M worth of infrastructure enables FVHH to build new homes affordably for low-income veterans. Any of these spokespeople are eager to speak with you about the project.

Spokespeople

Jeff Barrett || Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity Executive Director ||
Lawella Szweda|| see video interview military veteran and FVHH homeowner
Linda Chapa LaVia || Former Director, Illinois Department of Veteran Affairs
Rebecca Ropp is a disabled 16-year Navy Veteran and single mother who is passionate about giving back to other Veterans

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Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

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