Soldiers are coming back from war having survived injuries no one would have survived before.
Actor Gary Sinise’s Building For America’s Bravest is helping to supply them with houses catered to their needs that look like regular houses but are actual high-tech marvels designed to make life as easy as possible.
Homebuilders have never had to think before about the design challenges presented by someone like Brendan Marrocco, the first surviving quadruple amputee to come home from Iraq. He and now dozens of other severely wounded veterans like him–triple and quadruple amputees and soldiers paralyzed by IEDs–compose a new population in America created by the particular weapons of these wars and the medical advances that have saved them. And they need new kinds of homes.
DESIGN FOR WOUNDED WARRIORS
It’s tremendously daunting, though, from a design perspective, to think about how the limitations of severe war injuries change the way someone goes through their most private, mundane movements. Wheelchairs, for instance, are much harder to use on carpet. From the seat of one, bathroom mirrors become useless. A veteran in a wheelchair with the use of his arms, or prosthetics, might be able to stir a pot on the front burner of a stove. But he can’t see what’s inside of it.
The Gary Sinise Foundation and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation have been trying to build a new generation of smart homes for severely wounded veterans since Marrocco first came home. Sinise, a longtime advocate synonymous with veterans since playing one in the film Forrest Gump, first met Marrocco at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington after Marrocco was injured in 2009.
Sal Cassano, New York City’s fire commissioner, later asked Sinise to help the community raise money for a new home for Marrocco on Staten Island. Then, while plans were underway for a fundraising concert with Sinise’s Lt. Dan Band, word of another quadruple amputee arrived. And then a third. There was need for not just one home, but a new kind of home, which would be individually tailored to the needs of each wounded veteran, heavily lined with technology on the back end, and controlled from tablets and smart phones. The two foundations ultimately paired to create a program, Building for America’s Bravest, that’s now aiming to construct dozens more smart homes similar to the one Marrocco moved into in the summer of 2011. Each one costs about $500,000 to build, although they’ve so far been constructed with tens of thousands of dollars of donated labor and material.
“WE WANT TO GIVE THEM INDEPENDENCE”
These homes speak to a modern confluence of technology and war. America has never had a class of returning veterans quite like Marrocco. But before now, it also hasn’t been possible, technologically speaking, to build such homes for them.
“They’ve given pieces of themselves, and they are going to be remembering for the rest of their life what they were like before this injury and before their service,” Sinise says. “When they get into these houses, we want to give them independence, which will give them a shot, a chance. Having your own home is where everything begins.”
Every veteran will require different touches and amenities, and so the foundations and the builders working with them must reinvent the smart home each time. Some of the veterans have amputations low enough on their legs to wear and walk around on prosthetics; others will be wheelchair bound for life. Tyler Huffman, a veteran in Missouri, is paralyzed from the waist down but still has full strength in his upper body.
In thinking about each of these new homeowners, Sinise is motivated by the memory of the Vietnam era, when, he says, no one cared for the veterans who came home. “That was shameful for our country to treat our warriors that way,” he says. “That made life very, very difficult for our Vietnam vets. Not only did they have to go and struggle with the memories of losing buddies and losing parts of themselves, and the trauma of war, but they had to come home to a divided country that treated them like crap. That weakened our nation.”
It’s almost impossible to imagine such a reaction today, in a country now divided over just about everything but the treatment of veterans.
The Latest Bing News on:
Smart Homes
- Leviton’s Newest EV Series Smart Home Chargers Offer Added Convenienceon April 27, 2024 at 4:08 am
An industry leader in innovative design, Leviton just upgraded its popular electric vehicle chargers for ultimate user convenience. We’re sharing the scoop.
- This is the best smart accessory you didn’t know you neededon April 27, 2024 at 2:40 am
The Nix Mini 2 is a smart, portable color wizard that scans colors in the real world and transposes them to digital formats. It syncs with your mobile devices.
- An upgraded Nest Hub is the only smart home upgrade I really wanton April 26, 2024 at 11:00 pm
We’re left scratching our heads, wondering when an upgrade will come, especially when it's a big company like Google. That’s how we feel about the Google Nest Hub. The popular smart display series ...
- Integrating Smart Home Technology in Modern Building Designon April 26, 2024 at 1:10 am
Introduction In Sydney, a hub for innovation and technology, integrating smart home technology in modern building designs reshapes how we live and interact with our environments. Infinite Building ...
- Open Home Foundation launches to defend privacy, choice in smart homeson April 23, 2024 at 2:30 pm
The group will educate the public, public servants, and private entities about the importance of open standards, open-source projects and data privacy.
- 7 smart home tips to help you save energy and reduce wasteon April 23, 2024 at 4:32 am
As with almost all smart home devices, smart thermostats grant you the ability to remotely control your home, helping you reduce wasted energy by up to 8% according to energy-saving standards firm ...
- Average number of smart devices in a home 2024on April 22, 2024 at 4:59 pm
In 2022 there were an estimated 57.55 million users of smart home products in the U.S.7 It's estimated that by 2025, over 57% of U.S. households will have at least one smart home device. While ...
- Move over, Alexa and HomeKit: A new Assistant is here to open source your smart homeon April 22, 2024 at 12:51 pm
Home Assistant gets a boost from the Open Home Foundation, a nonprofit meant to ensure that smart home projects remain open and accessible to everyone.
- The Best Smart Home Security Deals for April 2024on April 22, 2024 at 8:43 am
Blink Indoor Wireless HD Security Camera (3-Pack) for $189.99 Ring Alarm Pro 8-Piece Kit With eero Wi-Fi 6 Router for $299.99 ...
- 3 smart home equity moves to make before the Fed's April Meetingon April 22, 2024 at 7:40 am
Here are three smart home equity moves to consider before the Fed's next rate announcement.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Smart Homes
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Smart Homes” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
[/vc_column_text]
The Latest Bing News on:
Smart homes for severely wounded veterans
- Warren County injured veteran receives house from Gary Sinise Foundationon April 26, 2024 at 8:59 pm
A retired Navy petty officer who lost both of his legs after a landmine explosion in Afghanistan was presented a newly built home fully equipped with smart technology, courtesy of the Gary Sinise ...
- Navy veteran in Lebanon receives accessible home through Gary Sinise Foundationon April 25, 2024 at 5:11 pm
The foundation welcomed retired U.S. Navy Petty Officer First Class John Kremer and his family to their new home in Lebanon.
- Programs give mortgage-free home in Maricopa to wounded veteranon April 23, 2024 at 10:58 pm
Christopher Hayden, who was a sergeant in the U.S. Army, received the keys to a mortgage-free home in Maricopa during a morning ceremony.
- Wounded Army veteran given mortgage-free home in Maricopaon April 23, 2024 at 10:47 pm
A wounded veteran from the U.S. Army received a mortgage-free home in Maricopa on Tuesday. Something Good is sponsored by Papa Murphy's.
- Wounded Warrior Homes opens hearts and a door to Army Veteranon April 23, 2024 at 5:19 pm
Wounded Warrior Homes, Inc., is a San Marcos, California based 501 (c)3 non-profit that helps homeless veterans get off the street and rehabilitated into a healthy lifestyle. Their food pantry and ...
- Tony Orlando recalls life-changing encounter with wounded veteran: 'Never prepared for this'on April 6, 2024 at 1:30 am
Tony Orlando has dedicated his decades-long career to our troops, but there was one encounter with a wounded veteran that has ... in a specially adapted smart home in Staten Island.
- Compensation or Insult? The Reality for Russia's Wounded Veteranson March 29, 2024 at 3:52 pm
The ongoing conflicts in Ukraine have once again brought to light the treatment of Russian war veterans ... a smart speaker. As the war in Ukraine persists, the list of wounded and permanently ...
- Financial Strain for Wounded Veterans: Two Thirds Can't Make Ends Meet, But Help Is Availableon May 17, 2023 at 4:59 pm
According to the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP)'s most recent Annual Warrior Survey, the largest and most comprehensive study of wounded post-9/11 veterans ... to how to buy a home with a VA ...
- Smart Homes for Vetson October 31, 2016 at 9:07 am
Smart home technology can help veterans with disabilities finish regular household duties that many take for granted. Here are several smart devices that have been found to be essential for ...
- Hinsdale disabled veteran to be recognized in Bostonon May 12, 2016 at 5:00 pm
The hospital was home to Clark ... 6th annual Boston Wounded Veterans Ride where motorcyclists will ride 25 miles throughout the North Shore, ending at Suffolk Downs in East Boston in order to raise ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Smart homes for severely wounded veterans
[google_news title=”” keyword=”smart homes for severely wounded veterans” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
1 Comments
homes to build
I liked your blog design and thanks for the share.