U.S. Army Ranger and Purple Heart recipient Travis Dunn and his family were recently presented with a brand new, mortgage-free, wheelchair-accessible home, thanks to a group effort to get the military veteran into a home that suits his and his family’s needs.
The Florida union carpenters and its signatory contractor, WW Gay Mechanical Contractors, Inc., worked closely with Jared Allen’s Home for Wounded Warriors (JAH4WW) and the Army Ranger Lead the Way Fund to build the home in Wesley Chapel, Florida.
Army Ranger Staff Sergeant Travis Dunn is paralyzed after sustaining severe injuries while deployed overseas. He earned the Bronze Star Medal of Valor and Purple Heart after being wounded in combat in Afghanistan. “For six years following his injuries, SSG Dunn, his wife Kelley and their daughter have lived in a home that does not accommodate the injuries he sustained while serving our country,” said Jared Allen, the pro football star who started JAH4WW. “It is our privilege to give him the home he deserves in honor of his service and sacrifice.”
The three-bedroom, three-bath, three-car garage home features an open floor plan, wider hallways and doorways to accommodate a wheelchair, scooter and prosthetic use, roll under countertops and sinks, and critical bathroom modifications that includes barrier-free showers with roll-in access, grab bars, seating, and a height-adjustable shower head. The 2,400 square-foot structure is built on a three-acre plot of land.
WW Gay was general contractor and self-performed the majority of the work, including the concrete, framing, trim.
WW Gay officials Harold Richardson and Jody Crews worked with the Florida Carpenters’ Central Area Manager Matt Swanson to provid hands-on guidance, support and direction to the dozen or so journeymen and apprentice carpenters working the project. Swanson credited Richardson, a 40-year member of the Florida Carpenters Union Local 702, WW Gay’s onsite foreman, Roy Charles, also of Local 702, and third-year apprentice Terrell Hutto from Local 1905 for their daily attention to the project, seeing it from concept to completion.
“We are honored to have played a role in getting Travis and his family the one-of-a-kind home they deserve,” said WW Gay’s Richardson. “I am very close to retirement and this was a wonderful way to end my career - to help a war hero live his best life. And I picked up a good buddy in Travis along the way.”
Additional support was provided by union signatory contractors Andersen Interior Contracting for the drywall, and Diverzify for the flooring and wall tile.
Staff Sergeant Dunn said he and his family are “grateful to everyone who helped give my family the American dream. It’s the simple things like bringing in groceries, cooking a meal or taking a shower that will have the most impact on mu day-to-day life in our new home,” Dunn said, adding “It’s hard to imagine all of the way a home specifically designed to accommodate my injuries will allow me and my family to live a more comfortable life.”
