Imagine being a veteran and your only wish is to come home. But that home is unsuitable to live in. Some local volunteers are helping to bring one veteran home again. 

Wayne Johnson is the Veterans Outreach Coordinator in St. Clair County. He is a board member for Habitat for Humanity. His job is to go out in the community and find veterans who need help.

One day Johnson got a phone call from David White, a veteran who needed an extra hand with fixing his house. White’s home was decayed and full of mold, making it unsuitable to live in. That is when Johnson got a volunteer to tear down the house and leveled the ground for a doublewide trailer that was donated for White and his wife. It cost $7,000 to move the trailer and set it up. 

However, the trailer donated to White needed serious renovation. 

“The trailer had been sitting vacant for about two years. It was ransacked; the wiring and flooring had been ripped out,” said Wayne Johnson.

Home Depot played a role by offering discounted electrical supplies. Last Monday, three electricians Jason Nairmore, Daniel Acker, and Jason Clifton volunteered to rewire White’s trailer, spending 14 hours to get lights back on. Nairmore, Clifton and Acker took a “vacation day” to help rewire the trailer.

As well as being a veteran, David White is also battling cancer. Jason Nairmore said he knows what it’s like to lose someone to cancer. He lost his stepdad to cancer and his mom is currently undergoing cancer treatment.  Nairmore said he saw a post from the Habitat of Humanity on Facebook. 

“They were talking about he (White) couldn’t live in his house because the electrical wiring had been stripped out by vandalism,” said Nairmore. 

Right now what Johnson needs are more volunteers for plumbing, sheet rock, flooring and foundation work. White and his wife temporarily stay with his mother-in-law until the house is restored back to livable conditions. 

“He just wants to come home,” said Wayne Johnson.  “His only wish is to have a safe house for his wife after he is gone.”

For more information contact Wayne Johnson 205-577-1480.