Operation Homefront Housing Program Provides a Fresh Start
After spending her whole career in the Air Force, single mom Renee Gilliam embarked on life as a veteran with a dream of becoming a homeowner.
She was not sure how to make it happen until she found Operation Homefront’s Transitional Homes for Veterans program during an online search.
Through the THV program, veterans within three years of discharge can live rent-free in a house for two to three years as they build savings, reduce debt, and become established in careers and the community.
At the time she was living in base housing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 2022, she applied for a home in Fuquay-Varina and was accepted into the program.
“I prayed because I didn’t know how many people applied or if I would be picked,” she said.
Renee and her kids, Terrance, now 21, and Zakaree, 14, spent the next two years adjusting to life in the civilian world. Her son and daughter thrived.
“My kids and I loved it,” Renee said. “The house was perfect. It had a backyard so my dog could run and play.”
Renee was able to save money and raise her credit score. She had car trouble, and being in the program meant she was able to take care of the repair. She was able to focus on her PTSD and settled into civilian life.
“You have to get used to not being told when to do everything,” she said.
Renee enlisted in the Air Force in 2000 because she wanted a way to see the world and get out of her hometown in Virginia. The military provided a secure job and adventure. She worked first in supply then in the Equal Opportunity Employment division.
Her son has lived through humanitarian missions, training, and two deployments to the Middle East. Her daughter experienced one deployment. She stayed with her grandmother, Renee’s mom, in Virginia, while her son stayed with his dad in Oklahoma.
The entire family has had five changes of station that included Japan and Korea.
“I feel like (the program) saved my life,” she said. “I shielded my kids from the struggles I had financially and in the military. THV took a big weight off my shoulders because it allowed me to keep my head above water and breathe.” – Renee Gilliam, Air Force veteran
As retirement creeped up in 2022, Renee began researching how she could become a homeowner. She wanted her children to have stability that comes from homeownership — making neighborhood friends, joining clubs, and going to the same school every year.
As a single mom, she worried about budgeting for bills. She knew she would have retirement pay, but she also had a 100 percent disability rating and lived with PTSD and other injuries from her time in service.
Becoming a part of the THV program gave her the time she needed to set up a secure and stable fresh start for her family. She is grateful to the donors who make the program possible.
“I feel like (the program) saved my life,” she said. “I shielded my kids from the struggles I had financially and in the military. THV took a big weight off my shoulders because it allowed me to keep my head above water and breathe. Other people were cheering me on and saying we are going to walk with you together.”
Renee still applies all the financial lessons she learned during her time in the program. She plans to teach them to her children as well.
“I’m teaching my kids the importance of their credit score and savings,” she said. “I’m very, very, very appreciative of the program.”
Since it began in 2018, the THV program has defrayed more than $2.2 million in mortgage costs to military families and graduated 45 families.
