LYNCHBURG, VA – “That’s kind of the transition from seeing things with your eyes, to seeing things with your heart. And realizing the long-term impact of this project on two six-year-old children for the rest of their lives,” Purple Heart Homes Board Member Mike Lennon said.
When Mike Lennon and Rex Brust introduced Purple Heart Homes to Central Virginia, their mission was clear: to rebuild lives, not just homes.
“They’re just like, ‘I never knew that these people cared about me this much,’” Lennon said.
Usually, they focus on helping older veterans age in place with wheelchair ramps and tiny homes, but a recent tragedy has shifted their focus to a family in need.
“The children’s lives have taken a tragic turn. But we have an opportunity to make that a positive turn and help these children for a long time to come,” Lennon said.
Purple Heart Homes tells us one of the victims, Amanda Robertson, was the mother of his children.
“So we have two orphan children, six years old, who were adopted by their aunt and moved into their home. The challenge is that their home is already pretty full,” Lennon said.
Lennon and Brust heard of the need and went to visit the family back at Christmas.
“Her comments were that she didn’t know there were people in the world who cared enough to help,” Brust said.
What they found was a house much too small to meet the needs of everyone inside and a host of other issues.
“We’re probably going to need to raise 50 to $60,000,” Lennon said.
That’s where the Lynchburg Area Veterans Council comes in.
During their meeting Wednesday, President Thomas Current presented Purple Heart Homes with a check for over $1,000. And member after member came forward with more.
“These people have great hearts. The hearts of a servant, that’s what this is,” Current said.
They aim to shine a light on veteran mental health issues.
“We needed to do something to support this veteran, support his children,” Brust said.
The hope is that they remember not the name of their organization, but the love they received.
“They’ll tell stories throughout their lives of, ‘Hey, this happened to me when I was a little kid. This organization, I can’t remember the name of them, but they came and built square footage on our house so we had a comfortable place to live,’” Lennon said.
Donations are currently being matched up to $15,000.
If you’d like to donate, you can click here. Make sure to specify your donation to the ‘VA Hearts of Healing’ campaign.
