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America’s youth give back to America’s heroes.
The national non-profit organization Building Homes for Heroes (BHH) builds, rehabilitates and provides housing for wounded veterans, first responders and Gold Star families (who have lost a US military service member while active).
The New York-based organization recently met with high school students from The Villages Charter School (TVCS) Construction Management Academy in Florida.
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In May, BHH unveiled two new homes for veterans in Lake Panasoffkee, Florida, donated by U.S. Army Specialist Rajae Jones and U.S. Army Sergeant James Tabares and their families.
The houses were built from the ground up by TVCS students in partnership with BHH, requiring them to do manual labor, learn a new job and give back to their community.
(Left to right) US Army Specialist Rajae Jones and US Army Sergeant James Tabares and their families receive mortgage-free homes from Building Homes for Heroes on May 14, 2026. (Building homes for heroes)
Kim Vesey, president and general counsel to the BHH President, showed recent projects and collaborations with TVCS.
“It’s a really good program, and we’re lucky to be able to work with them,” he said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
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Together, the organization and the student program have built several houses for veterans, starting in 2024 with a family that “had been struggling,” Vesey said.
The family is said to have been living in temporary housing while the husband suffered from military injuries and PTSD, which made it difficult to continue working.
“They just found themselves in this cycle of endless struggle,” said Vesey. “They had two little boys, and they were trying really hard.”
The family was given the first home built by TVCS and BHH students. Now, both sons work at the school, and the veteran runs a program at the Autism School.
“The community must always help those who have worked and need some help.
“I can’t say enough good things about the opportunity the school is giving these students,” said Vesey. “The hands-on ability to not only go into a classroom and learn a craft, but also to give back to their community at the same time and change people’s lives and see it firsthand … to be able to have that kind of impact on the world and realize that what you’re doing is important — I can’t imagine how much that helps.”
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Recent TVCS graduate Blake Tart, 18, shared his experience in a separate interview with Fox News Digital.
“My experience with Building Homes for Heroes was great – seeing a project go from a sandbox to a finished and decorated home,” he said. “I’ll take the hard work and lessons I’ve learned to my next job, and the most important lesson is that I can work on all of this in my home one day.”
Tart, who comes from a family of veterans, said he and his classmates come every day and “work hard” for veterans to find housing.
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“We were never satisfied with good enough – we wanted it to be perfect,” he said. “The community must always help those who have worked and need some help.
BHH is present in 37 US states, but Florida has seen the greatest need for housing among veterans, according to Vesey. He emphasized the importance of people understanding more about why ex-service members may need more help.
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“People don’t find themselves in situations where they can’t support their families on purpose,” Vesey said.
US Army Sergeant James Tabares and his wife stand in front of their new home built by students from The Villages Charter School Construction Management Academy and Building Homes for Heroes. (Building homes for heroes)
“Our veterans go into the military to serve their country for many different reasons, and many of them go into it thinking it’s going to be a full-time job, like being a teacher or a lawyer or a doctor…
“So, if you join the military thinking you’re going to put 30 years into that job, and you get cut off because you’re injured, it’s a big risk.”
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Many veterans who leave the military after being injured do not have a stable place to live, a college degree or a supportive job.
“You haven’t put down roots because you’ve served your country for 10 years … there’s no going back,” Vesey said. “When people go into this very dangerous job and that job is cut short through no fault of their own to serve our country, I think it’s very important that our country is there to serve them.”
