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MORTON, Ill. — When U.S. Army Sgt. Brian Wood returned from Afghanistan, he was honored with an amazing surprise — Habitat for Humanity had offered to help his family build their first house.
But things quickly got ugly when some neighbors started a petition because they feared the house would not fit with the rest of the community. The petition actually ended up being a blessing in disguise as it helped Habitat for Humanity secure the donation money needed to build the house.
Wood's story has gone viral, and donations have been pouring in from around the world as people are being touched by the Afghanistan Vet's story.
"Bad has turned to good," Lea Anne Schmidgall, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Peoria, told Yahoo Shine. "The people who started the petition did us a favor in a roundabout way, because it raised awareness, as well as funds for the project."
In an interview with ksl.com, Wood said he's had a hard time since returning from Afghanistan. He earned two Bronze Stars and lost his hearing in one ear.
"It's been one of the hardest transitions I've ever had to face in my life," he said. "It's a complete change of lifestyle in each and every way. I was away from family for a total of 28 months during two tours. Going from fast-paced, hostile and dangerous environment to life at home has been a very hard transition."
Wood, his wife Julie, and their three children spent most of their life together in a small apartment. Wood, who is no longer an active member of the military and now part of the National Guard, gets by working a $10-an-hour job at a warehouse while his wife stays at home with the kids.
The Wood family needed help, and a counselor at the local Veterans Affairs office suggested that he apply for a house with Habitat for Humaity in Peoria, a non-profit group that builds homes for people who can help pay for a share of the home.
Wood learned his family qualified and the local Habitat for Humanity soon found an empty lot in Morton. Still, they needed to raise $80,000 in donations to start construction on the house.
Fortunately, a state congressman stepped in and surprised the Wood family in a big way. Harvest Bible Church, the local congregation that the Wood's attend, held a fundraiser for the family to kick-off the donation process.
U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., surprised the Wood family on stage, pledged his support to help the family raise the money they needed and offered to be their sponsor.
We want to thank everybody for the support and at the same time really want to show all the love and the respect towards the people that started the petition and the co-signers. They had every right to want what's best for their neighborhood.
–Army Sgt. Brian Wood
"Someone contacted Schock about me being a veteran, and he jumped all over it and surprised me that night and introduced us to the Morton area," Wood said. "We were all surprised. I was tearing up, (my wife) did, too."
But things got stalled when a petition to stop construction of the house started going around. The creators were concerned that the house would not fit in with others in the neighborhood.
Not all locals were against the house being built. Morton resident Jamie Sorensen read an article about the petition and showed her husband Zac Sorensen. The next day, Zac and his friend Brandon Zeone discussed the article at length at work.
"We decided we would not stand for our local veterans, or Habitat for Humanity, feeling as though they were not welcome in the town both ourselves and our families call home," Zac Sorensen said.
The two friends decided to start a Facebook page in support of the Wood family and to help rally the community together. The page has already garnered almost 4,000 likes.
"Zac and I were both at work when we saw the article about the petition against the house. We were shocked at both the petition and the backlash against the entire town," Zeone told ksl.com. "We wanted to show them that Morton supports veterans and the Habitat For Humanity project."
And with help from Schock and the Facebook page, the donations started coming in. They've raised over $40,000 so far. Wood said Habitat for Humanity has been contacted by donors from Africa and Europe wanting to help the young vet and his family. He's grateful for the support and even more grateful for the petition to stop the house that started this whole situation.
"We want to thank everybody for the support and at the same time really want to show all the love and the respect towards the people that started the petition and co-signers," he told ksl.com. "They had every right to want what's best for their neighborhood."
As for Wood and his family, they are looking forward to the day when they call themselves homeowners for the first time.
"(It will be) a new chapter of our life and we cannot wait to start that," Wood said.
For more information on how you to help the Wood family in their endeavor to build a home, visit the Morton Supports The Brian Wood Family Facebook page and Peoria Habitat for Humanity websites.
