The Home Depot Foundation and Habitat for Humanity San Fernando/Santa Clarita Valleys are now in the third and final phase of building 24 homes for low-income veterans in the 78-home Santa Clarita Veteran Enriched Neighborhood®, located in the Centre Pointe area of Saugus.

The nonprofit organizations previously partnered to build Phase 1 in 2014 and Phase 2 in 2016.

The Home Depot Foundation carries out its volunteering efforts through Team Depot, its force of associate volunteers who work to improve the homes and lives of U.S. military veterans and their families in the communities where they live and work.

Two hundred Team Depot volunteers are invited to participate in this build day event and will be completing jobs such as framing, painting, and fence-building. Beyond the financial contribution that the Home Depot Foundation makes, physically helping to build the homes keeps costs low and the homes affordable.

These homes, built using the Homes 4 Families™ Veteran Enriched Neighborhood® model, provides low-income veterans and their families with a homeownership opportunity along with self-sufficiency and resiliency training proven to move families up into the middle class. These ongoing social services and programs include financial education, leadership training, and veteran-specific trauma informed workshops to help veterans and their families overcome some military-specific challenges.

One of the homes Team Depot will help to build will soon belong to Karen, an Army veteran and mother of 3. After returning from service in Iraq, Karen suffered from PTSD, depression, and suicidal ideations. She became homeless and hit rock bottom. After her decision to seek help and move from a homeless shelter to a low-income apartment, she was able to find employment at the homeless shelter she was living in just a year earlier.

Karen’s persistence, resilience, and support from her family helped her get back on her feet and today, she continues to work at the shelter helping others like her and is set to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree this spring. Karen and her family are set to move into one of the Phase 3 homes currently under construction. To Karen, owning a home means safety and stability, and would be a dream come true.

Habitat for Humanity San Fernando/Santa Clarita Valleys’ mission is to build affordable homes for low-income civilian and veteran families and provide services that empower them to build brighter futures as homeowners. They are a locally run, independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving North Los Angeles City and County, building houses and futures for low-income families. This Habitat affiliate specializes in building Enriched Neighborhood® communities which hold the promise to move low-income families up into the middle class and have built 359 homes to date. Learn more at www.HumanityCA.org.

Homes 4 FamiliesTM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving low-income families through the development and replication of the Enriched Neighborhood® model. This model offers a powerful outcome-based program of wraparound services and education that empowers underserved families to build equity, self-sufficiency skills and advocacy capacity to move themselves up in socio-economic status. For more information, go to www.Homes4Families.org.

About The Home Depot Foundation
Since the first The Home Depot store opened in 1979, giving back has been a core value for the Company and a passion for its associates. Today, The Home Depot, in partnership with The Home Depot Foundation, focuses its philanthropic efforts on improving the homes and lives of U.S. military veterans and their families and aiding communities affected by natural disasters. Through Team Depot, the Company’s associate-led volunteer force, thousands of associates dedicate their time and talents to these efforts in the communities where they live and work.

Since 2011, The Home Depot Foundation has invested more than $198 million in veteran causes, and along with the help of Team Depot volunteers, has transformed more than 33,000 homes and facilities for veterans. To learn more and see Team Depot in action, visit www.homedepot.com/teamdepot and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @teamdepot and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamdepot.