Army Veterans Find Deeper Meaning in Neighboring Permanent Homes
On the day in 2022 when Army veterans Kisha Dorsey and James Ford received keys to their neighboring homes, each anticipated their lives would change because they were on the path to becoming homeowners. They just couldn’t know how many seemingly small differences would come to feel monumental.
The two were strangers when they moved to a Houston, Texas, suburb and into newly built homes made possible through Operation Homefront’s Permanent Homes for Veterans (PHV) program.
Two years later, Kisha and James are homeowners and next-door neighbors who, like soldiers, have each other’s backs. That reassurance is among the many quality-of-life improvements that grew out of their participation in the program.
Families in the program receive financial counseling and homeowner education while living rent-free in a home for two years while they pay down debt and build savings. When they complete the program, they receive the deed to the home, mortgage-free.
“We have become the best of friends,” said Kisha, who served three years as a communication interceptor before a training injury led to her medical retirement in 2003.
Whether it’s a friendly wave, picking up mail, or cheering each other on for graduate school, they appreciate the value of a good neighbor.
“Kisha and I have a family teamwork mentality,” said James, who earned two Purple Hearts during his six years as a combat engineer. “We function like it’s a cohesive unit, almost like what we went through in the military. Now I have this person next door who’s in my personal life who has had a similar experience so we can relate.”
After completing the PHV program and receiving the mortgage-free deeds to their homes this summer, Kisha and James reflected on the impact of having a stable and secure home.
“It’s a lot more than a house,” said James, who has enjoyed having a home that is accessible in his wheelchair and allows his 12-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter to have their own rooms when they’re with him. “Having a stable roof over my head impacts everyone. I want to be an example for my kids, and the home has provided exactly the opportunity to do just that.”
Since moving into the home, James completed a master’s degree and started working for another. His goal is to finish his master’s in clinical mental health and counseling in late 2025 and begin working with veterans and first responders.
Kisha, a single mom with sons who are 10 and 19, echoed his sentiment, saying her home life is easier because of the community and the location.
“I’ve always wanted to be a homeowner, but I didn’t know that being put in the right spot would make such a difference for me and my kids,” she said. “The home has created a space for quality time with my family.”
She accepted a new job that cut her commute time from 90 minutes each way to 20, giving her valuable time at home. Her younger son, who lives with autism, is thriving in his new school, and she plans to start graduate school next year and work toward a degree in psychology.
Most important, though, she feels safe.
“This house is the difference in us living in a neighborhood where I didn’t allow my kids to go outside alone to being able to go out and take a walk at night,” she said. “I had PTSD about noises at night because my last home was broken into and we would hear shooting. Now I can sleep at night.”
Now, she appreciates neighborhood walks with her sons and watching them play basketball in the park across the street.
“I’m grateful for sleep. I’m grateful my kids are safe. I’m grateful to go to the park across the street,” she said.
“Everything donors have done–from a penny to the largest donation–has transformed my life in such a big way,” Kisha said. “I would love to embrace every single person who did any piece, not just for me, but for any military family or veteran.”
The Ford and Dorsey families are among nearly 690 Permanent Homes for Veterans program graduates since 2012. The impact totals more than $104 million in deeded equity. The PHV program, along with three other distinct transitional housing programs for veteran families, are part of the Operation Homefront mission to build strong, stable, and secure military families.
We could not deliver our mission without the support of donors such as our 11 Days of Impact partners, which include Northrup Grumman, Love’s Travel Stops, Kohl’s, Impossible Foods, CarMax, Homefront Brands, Daylight Wine & Spirits, Secret, Gillette, and Kwik Fill.
