U.S. Army veteran Shanique Wright and her family recently moved into their mortgage-free home in Dade City, thanks to Wells Fargo and Operation Homefront.
Wright joined the Army National Guard in 2008, and was deployed to two different locations in Iraq between 2009 and 2010, according to a news release.
She moved to Tampa in 2012 to be a caretaker for her grandmother and was medically discharged in 2014.
The veteran had been living with her husband, Eugene Hicks III, and their 5-year-old son, Eugene Hicks IV, in a small duplex, but were unable to purchase their own home.
They moved into their new home on Jan. 21. Now, they live near the Veterans Administration hospital where Eugene works and Shanique receives treatments. They also live close to outdoor recreational opportunities for their son.
Through Operation Homefront’s Permanent Homes for Veterans program, formerly known as Homes on the Homefront, Wright will work with an Operation Homefront financial counselor and a caseworker to build savings, reduce debt and to grow relationships in the community. Once she and her family successfully complete the program, they will receive the deed to the home.
To date, Operation Homefront has worked with like-minded partners, such as Wells Fargo, to provide more than 600 military families with mortgage-free homes, worth a total of $90 million in home equity.
Since 2012, Wells Fargo has donated more than 140 homes to Operation Homefront, and more than 400 homes to nonprofit organizations, valued at over $60 million, for veterans and Gold Star families across the 50 states.
Published February 10, 2021
