Military Mom Feels “Blessed” after Completing HOTH Program
Navy veteran Shynae Murphy thinks about blessings when she looks at the house, donated by JPMorgan Chase, that she now owns thanks to Operation Homefront, and her own hard work and determination.
“I am blessed to be in this house looking at the walls, thinking how my children and I have a home and it’s all ours,” Shynae wrote in a letter to Operation Homefront. “Blessed to have a school bus that’s stopped in front of the house, minimal to no violence in my neighborhood, daycare access is less than five minutes from the home, and a warm house to create memories.”
In 2017, Shynae, then a single mother to one daughter, with a boy on the way, was accepted into Operation Homefront’s Homes on the Homefront (HOTH) program and moved into a two-story, three-bedroom, two-bath home in Algonquin, Illinois, a town less than hour from Chicago, where she grew up.
She graduated from the program this year and was recently deeded the home, mortgage-free. The program enabled her to reach her goal of becoming more stable and secure for her daughter, Sharlyne, 11, and son, Xavier, 2. It is the only home he has known.
In the past two years, she has networked with other parents in the neighborhood to grow her support network to be even bigger than the family who already lives in Algonquin. Plus, she has joined the local library and enrolled her kids in a variety of neighborhood activities.
“This (HOTH) program is hard work…but rewarding,” she wrote in the letter. “I wanted to thank everyone for this experience and having faith in me. I will be thankful for this program all my life.”
Shynae served for four years in the Navy. As a seaman, she worked in aviation maintenance and specialized in quality assurance, making sure the bomb skids were not tampered with. In 2007, she toured the Pacific Ocean and served on the 7th Fleet in Dubai, Iran, Singapore, and Hong Kong before being honorably discharged in 2010.
