ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. – This Veterans Day will be extra special for one vet in Oakland County. Her new home has been fully furnished thanks to a Metro Detroit nonprofit.
Laura Phalen took her time taking in her fully furnished home. At 69 years old, she said she can feel the love that went into her new home.
Phalen was 19 when she served in Germany in the early 1970s as an intelligence agent. In the decades since, she’s experienced housing insecurity.
“Because when we serve and furnish a home for people coming out of homelessness, that raises them up and our whole Metro Detroit community,” said Chris Tull, with Humble Design Detroit.
The nonprofit helps between 15 and 20 veterans annually.
Phalen was connected to Humble Design Detroit in October and designers worked diligently to get her home ready in time for Veterans Day.
“If you love your country, then you have to do things,” Phalen said. “Even if you don’t serve in the military there are things you can do and you have to find that.”
Humble Design Detroit estimates they help about 400 people a year, mostly children. If you’d like to volunteer or donate, visit the nonprofit’s official website.