Local veteran with disabilities receiving custom-built home

ELBERTA, Ala. (WALA) - An injured veteran in the community is receiving a custom-built home.

Homes for our Troops is a national organization that builds handicap-accessible homes for severely injured, post-9/11 veterans across the nation.

On Saturday, several members of the community came out to the Elberta Civic Center to show their support for Staff Sgt. Johnny Morris.

In 2011, Morris was severely injured on an explosive ordinance disposal mission in Afghanistan.

Today, he says it’s been a long road to recovery.

“I served in the Marines from 2004 to 2013,” said Morris. “The job I did was the explosive ordinance disposal which was like the bomb squad. Our job was to find IEDs and render them safe or just blow them in place-- that’s how I got injured. I was working a call and I stepped on one. It’s a long road to recovery.”

Homes for our Troops specifically designs houses for easier access.

“They bring you in an treat you like family. They don’t just give you a house- they make your life better, your whole life. We’re just excited they’ve chosen us,” said Morris.

Morris’s friend, Sgt. Dustin Johns, was also a recipient of a home.

“Today, we’ve got a community kick off event for Staff Sgt. Johnny Morris. They’re going to be building a home here in Elberta,” said Johns. “I had a home built in 2016 in Missouri. We were both severely injured on staff employment in Afghanistan.”

Johns says Homes for Our Troops has built over 350 houses around the country since 2004.

“I absolutely love the organization, it’s a very close-knit, family organization,” he said. “They continue their support even after they build our homes and they continue to help us. Everything in the house you can get to in a wheelchair... the shelves come down, you can roll right into a shower.”

Morris says he’s thankful for the community’s outpouring of support.

“The community has gave us a hug basically and came out, it’s been a pretty awesome day,” he said.

Click here to donate to the construction of Johnny’s home.

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