Habitat for Humanity for the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys is calling for its daring donors to rappel down from the roof of the 25 story Hilton Universal City building to help raise funds to give military veterans a safe place to call home.

Two of those veterans who will receive homes from the generosity of donors are Hope and Korey Washington, who were excited and eager to dedicate their lives in service to the United States.

Hope began her military career as a JROTC student during the 9/11 terrorist attacks and started basic training for the U.S. Army in 2004. She parted from the military when she became pregnant with her first born and became a military spouse, but was soon divorced and became a single mother. That’s when she met her current husband, Korey, who was soon deployed to Iraq.

Korey now suffers from severe PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury, and has frequent seizures, tremors, and problems with his knees and shoulders. Upon Korey’s medical discharge, the family’s finances suffered and they ended up with no place to live. They and their four children used every dollar they had to pay for and live out of a local hotel room.

Hope tried to file a claim so they could get the financial and medical benefits necessary to support the family and Korey’s condition, but unfortunately without a permanent address, they were unable to process their claim and without their benefits and they couldn’t afford to rent or buy their own home.

That’s when Habitat stepped in and with help from sponsorships, Habitat was able to secure a temporary mobile home for the Washington family so they could apply for and receive their benefits. Korey was thus deemed 90% disabled, while Hope was designated as his full-time caregiver at the highest financial tier to help Korey with daily functioning.

Washington family.

Habitat for Humanity is currently working with the Washington family so they can qualify to move in to our 78-home Veteran Enriched Neighborhood that is under construction in Santa Clarita.

“Being able to buy our own home will put us on track to making a happy and full life for our children and family,” Hope said. “We’ve been through so many rough patches and sometimes didn’t know where our next meal would come from, but Korey and I have been taught by the military to persevere through the darkest storms. Habitat for Humanity has truly been the light and the blessing in our darkness.”

Anyone can help the Washintons and other families like them have a safe place to call home: while there are many volunteer opportunities available through Habitat, one way to get involved is to join in the “Over the Edge” fundraiser, which will have those who are daring enough rappel down the Hilton Universal City building.

Over the Edge will be on October 7 and 8 at the Hilton Universal City; rappel spaces are limited, so if interested sign up as soon as possible. 100% of the funds raised will go to build homes for Veteran families at the Santa Clarita site.

Head over to www.HumanityCA.org to sign up for a rappel space or to donate to Habitat for Humanity, San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valley, and to learn more about sponsorship opportunities for the event.