Two military veterans were awarded free homes in a new Orange County community Monday, arriving in a motorcade as hundreds of onlookers waving American flags cheered for them.
”This is truly life-changing for us. It’s basically like giving a golden ticket to veterans,” said retired U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Kaia Santana. “You’ve elevated our quality of life and showed that we matter, that our service mattered, that sacrifice means something to somebody and that we are seen and appreciated.”
Santana was injured on a military base in Iraq in 2005. She and her husband and three children will share the two-story home with a backyard pool.
Santana and retired U.S. Army Sergeant James Burse were awarded the homes through the Building Homes for Heroes, a national program that began after 9-11, and the home construction company Pulte Group’s Built to Honor program. Both programs aim to provide free homes to injured veterans and first responders.
The veterans’ new homes sit next to each other in Pulte’s EverBe community, located east of Orlando International Airport.
Each 2,563-square-foot home has five bedrooms and three bathrooms. Single-family homes in EverBe typically sell from about $435,000 up to $785,000, according to the community website.
The families got their first glimpses of the completed homes after a ceremony held under a tent set up between the new houses.
“We’ve had the pleasure of doing this one…
