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Helping veterans find a home

Group's goal is to build 100 houses in next three years

By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 22, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Travis Strong, a Denver native who lost both legs in Iraq, will return in August to a new house built by Homes for our Troops, which has built more than 20 homes around the country.

Photo by Strong Family Photo

Travis Strong, a Denver native who lost both legs in Iraq, will return in August to a new house built by Homes for our Troops, which has built more than 20 homes around the country.

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Travis Strong grew up in Denver, went to war and lost both legs in Iraq, then battled through rehabilitation in California.

In August, he comes back to Denver. And back to a home.

The 30-year-old will be the beneficiary of a project run by Homes for Our Troops, a nonprofit that has built more than 20 homes for veterans and their families around the country.

Strong will be given his house when the Democrats hold their national convention Aug. 25-28 at Pepsi Center.

Republicans will make a similar presentation at their convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul Sept. 1-4.

The Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul projects are a cooperative effort of the Democratic National Convention Committee, the Republican National Convention, the Credit Union National Association and the National Journal.

John Gonsalves, founder and president of Homes for Our Troops, said the hope is to break ground on the three-bedroom home for Strong and his family sometime in March or April.

Natalie Wyeth, spokeswoman for the DNCC, said it is an important project and the decision to take part was an easy one.

"It was obviously a nice opportunity to further our commitment to our DNCC Service Days campaign - particularly working with our partners in the labor community," she said. "This is really a long-term project with a long-term reward."

Officials from both parties said that the effort goes beyond partisanship.

Like Wyeth, Matt Burns, spokesman for the Republican National Convention, said participation in the project was "a no-brainer."

"All parties involved, quite frankly, have the same feeling and the same sentiment," Burns said. "You can say what you want about the war, but make no mistake about the warriors who defend our country every day and who deserve our respect."

Both Wyeth and Burns said staffs at the respective conventions won't be doing the actual construction work but will be helping out with nonskilled construction needs.

John Dill, president of the Credit Union Association of Colorado and its sister association in Wyoming, said the organizations would help defray some of the labor costs of building the house and feeding the workers.

The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group founded by Gonsalves hopes to build 100 homes in the next three years for disabled veterans.

He said the recipients of the homes own them free and clear.

The recipient of the home in Minneapolis-St. Paul will be Sgt. Marcus Kuboy, a 30-year-old member of the Minnesota National Guard who served as a medic in Iraq and suffered severe injuries to his legs and a broken back and jaw when a roadside bomb blew up his truck in 2007.

He did his rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

monterod@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5236