Owning a home wasn’t in the plans when former U.S. Army Sgt. Perry Haley and his wife, Autumn, moved from Fort Stewart in Savannah to the Atlanta area with their daughters.
Perry was injured while serving in Korea and Iraq, where he also was diagnosed with two brain tumors. He was medically discharged from the Army in October 2013, and Autumn sought a job with the Veterans Administration. When she was hired by the Atlanta VA, they searched for a home to rent, but knew the budget would be tight.
The priority
With a wait for VA benefits and Perry unable to work, Autumn looked online for rental assistance programs. They were “living off rice and beans,” and were hoping for help with rent for a month, said Autumn, 33.
The search
Autumn found Operation Finally Home (operationfinallyhome.org), a non-profit that builds mortgage-free homes for wounded soldiers, and applied. The Haleys learned during a CNN interview that PulteGroup's Built to Honor program (pultegroupinc.com) was providing them a home.
“It is a blessing, it truly is,” said Perry, 33, who had a second surgery for his tumor in June. “It lifted a big weight off my shoulders without having to worry about whether my family is going to have a roof over their head.”
The home
The four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath home is in Sugar Hill’s Barrington Estates, which has homes from the $180,000s to $250,000s. The home was under construction, enabling the Haleys to pick out the granite countertops, backsplash, cabinets, carpet and floors. The home was furnished, and their daughters selected the paint colors, such as aqua blue in 3-year-old Hannah’s bedroom. “She loves dragonflies and butterflies, so they painted the room and incorporated some dragonflies and butterflies,” Autumn said.
The purple bedroom for Eva, 8, also has Hello Kitty items, while 12-year-old Georgia’s room has a hot pink and lime green palette. Autumn’s favorite room is the kitchen, which has a wall oven, and a space nearby with a desk for the girls to do homework. Perry, who has shoulder and back injuries, walks with a cane, and he said he can manage the stairs in the two-story home. His favorite features are the barbecue grill with a natural gas line and the master bathroom. In the bathrooms, Construction Resources donated and installed cultured marble countertops, framed mirrors, upgraded bath hardware and shelving.
“I’ve always dreamed of what kind of house I would want to live in,” Autumn said. “Now I’m actually living in it. It kind of makes you feel like it’s not so bad after all.”
The lifestyle
The Gwinnett County schools — White Oak Elementary School and Lanier Middle School — were highly ranked and are next door to each other, which saves time dropping off and picking up the girls, Autumn said.
“After we found out where the house was going to be located, I definitely looked up the school system right away, because that’s the main priority really for my kids,” she said.
The community has reminded the Haleys of the closeness they experienced among families living on a military base. “It’s just been amazing already. We’ve met so many neighbors,” Autumn said. “They have come to our house and introduced themselves.”
