Veteran Dad Rebuilding: Saving Our Home & Stepping Into the Classroom

After serving more than 20 years on active duty in the U.S. Army, I have officially retired from military service. My mission has never stopped, and I will soon begin my next chapter serving our community as a classroom teacher. But right now, my family is facing an unexpected crisis, and I am reaching out for a lifeline.

Through no fault of my own, a devastating divorce completely wiped me out financially. While I was awarded custody of my children and they live with me full-time, the financial fallout cost me everything I built over two decades of service. Today, I am the sole provider managing daily living costs, supporting my children’s education and stability, and being there for my mother as she bravely battles cancer. Our most urgent battle is keeping a roof over our heads. I am at risk of losing our home that I worked hard to keep for years.

I turned to the Department of Veterans Affairs for help, but the safety net failed us. The VA shut down the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program—a vital foreclosure-prevention program that rolled missed payments into an affordable 2.5% fixed-rate loan. The program was terminated without an operational replacement, leaving veterans like me with no mortgage relief, no alternative government safety nets, and nowhere to turn.

Despite these hurdles, I refuse to quit on my family or our future:

• Keeping our home secure: Halting foreclosure so my children have a permanent, stable roof over their heads.
• Providing for my children: Ensuring their education and daily essentials remain uninterrupted while rebuilding our lives from scratch.
• Entering the classroom: Completing my teaching credentials so I can step directly into the classroom to teach, mentor, and advocate for multilingual learners and underserved students, giving back to our local community every single day.

Every dollar raised goes directly toward preventing the loss of our home and stabilizing basic living and educational expenses for my children during this transition.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to listen to my story. Any contribution—no matter the size—gives my family the fresh start we desperately need. Once we weather this storm, I look forward to paying every bit of this kindness forward in the classroom and giving back to the students and communities who need it most.

Please consider donating or sharing our story with your network. Your support, prayers, and generosity mean the world to us. Thank you for standing by us.