PORT ORANGE, Fla. – Cheers and applause filled a quiet Port Orange neighborhood as Army veteran Eric Trinidad and his wife Ariana Trinidad cut the ribbon on a new home.
The mortgage-free house was gifted by Homes For Our Troops, a national nonprofit that builds and donates specially-adapted homes for severely injured post-9/11 veterans.
Trinidad, who served in Iraq, suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him almost totally blind. For him, the home represents more than a place to live.
“Coming back from the military is sometimes really heavy — not knowing what to do next or depending on people,” Trinidad said. “It’s been overwhelming. So learning how to ask for help is a big thing in this house.”
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The Port Orange home is unlike any other in the area. It includes more than 40 accessibility features designed to help Trinidad live independently, including voice-activated technology, wave-to-open doors and tactile safety bumps at the end of the driveway to alert him when he reaches the sidewalk.
Homes For Our Troops President and CEO Tom Landwermeyer said the organization has now built 428 homes nationwide, but its mission remains the same.
“They went to war and sacrificed for our freedom and independence,” Landwermeyer said. “When you depend on somebody, you’re no longer independent. All they want is to be as normal as anybody else — to be a good parent, a good spouse, and a value-added member of the family.”
The program allows veterans to choose where they want to live, something Trinidad said made Port Orange the right fit.
“I love Port Orange. I’m here every day,” he said. “Knowing I’ll be welcome in this community, that peace of mind is priceless and bigger than any house.”
For Trinidad, the new home is not just about rebuilding his future, it’s about reclaiming his independence.
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