Remodel Gives Dallas Army Veteran A Home Fit For A Hero
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A U.S. Army veteran in Dallas found herself raising a family in a house with no running water and holes in the roof.
As the family survived in a space that was barely livable, a special group came along to offer a home fit for a hero.
This Thanksgiving will be one to remember for Trista Hopkins. The Army veteran just received the keys to her newly remodeled home.
Dennis Luellen, the executive director of Rebuilding Together Greater Dallas, said there was no question Hopkins and her family were in need. "When we first saw this house, we knew we had to help her."
Not only was Hopkins trying to raise two girls in the house she inherited from her grandfather, she was doing so without some basic necessities.
"The plumbing was inoperable," Luellen said. "She was unable to use the plumbing for over a year. She's been borrowing the neighbor's bathroom to use the bathroom."
The Rebuilding Together volunteers were able to take the house and make it into a place the family could really call home.
Hopkins, who is currently a cafeteria worker at Cary Middle School, was overwhelmed as she looked at her newly renovated and decorated home. "Pure joy. Pure joy," she said. "To come from where we came from, mold, to the ceiling collapsing, to no running water, to this! It is overwhelming."
Now the family is planning a big Thanksgiving dinner and this Saturday another dream will come true. Hopkins will marry her fiancé on the back deck of their new home.
Thinking about everything that will happen in a week's time, Hopkins said, "It is overwhelming. It is truly overwhelming. And I am truly, truly thankful."
If you know a veteran you'd like to help Rebuilding Together Greater Dallas would like to hear from you. Click here to find out more about of Rebuilding Together Greater Dallas and their Home 4 Heroes program.
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