Killoran & Fuller Center for Housing Builds for Vets
By Dan Murphy
As Westchester remembers its veterans who have served our country and protected our freedom on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, let us all think about how we can truly say “thanks for your service” in a more meaningful way. Many of you have seen the movie “The Pursuit of Happiness” starring Will Smith, who portrayed Chris Gardner and his incredible life story, and his turnaround from homelessness to a successful business entrepreneur. In real life, one of the things that Gardner was most proud of was that he was a Navy veteran.
Gardner didn’t want to hear the words “Thanks for your service,” but he wanted us to back up our words with deeds. “I think one of the first things that everyone in the country can do is to accept that the words ‘Thank you for your service’ will never be enough,” he said. “I think all of us can look around our communities and say, ‘What can I do?’ Not, ‘Well, the government should do this, the city should do that, or this organization should do that.’
“There’s one thing we should all agree on and that is simple… You should not be a hero in Afghanistan and homeless in America,” said Gardner.
When we think of those in Westchester who are backing up their words with deeds, we think of Jim Killoran, who for many years led the effort for Habitat for Humanity in Westchester and now serves as Exec. Director for the Fuller Center for Housing of Greater New York City for the past year.
Recently, Killoran and several others walked from Manhattan to Mamaroneck as a way to raise funds for the Fuller Center’s Walk for Homes campaign, but also as a way to bring to the forefront the issue of how unaffordable housing is in Westchester.
Once they reached their destination at St. Augustine’s Church in Larchmont, an annual 2K walk was held to include everyone who wanted to participate and get involved. The funds raised from the walk will help build a home in Yonkers for a Vietnam veteran.
“My prayer for veterans is that we create national legislation that puts aside property in every community for veterans’ housing,” said Killoran, who tries to find a place to live, or a job, or some way to positively impact every veteran he finds on the streets or who walks into the Fuller Center’s doors in New Rochelle. “It makes sense that the people who protected us should not be homeless.
“I love all of the veterans’ ceremonies and events we have in Westchester, but we are building on Veterans Day. We are helping build a veteran’s home in Yonkers, who always wanted to own his own home, but also an Iraqi veteran and his family who needed help with their home.”
Killoran and the Fuller Center for Housing also do their best to help older veterans from World War II and from Korea, who have lived in their homes in Westchester for decades but are finding it harder to maintain and afford to live here.
“There’s the Navy Seal who has cancer, who was trying to finish his house but couldn’t do it,” said Killoran. “We helped rehabbing his kitchen. Or the vet who needed help taking the trees off his roof, or a WWII vet whose house we painted. When you get older, it gets harder to take care of your place.”
While Killoran is “a one-man army” for calling out for help for veterans, it is the people, organizations and corporations that answer his call that make it all happen. “I just got a donation of 5 tons of insulation that will go into a veteran’s home,” he said. “Most times I’m happy that they called for help. Some have no family and nobody that they can ask for help, so we become their extended family.”
Killoran calls his program of helping vets “God’s Greater Blessing” program. “It’s an honor to help our veterans,” he said. “They put their lives on the line for us – how many of your readers would do that, and go to a foreign land, and then come back to a different world here at home. While we don’t know what vets went through, in the end, they want the same things we all want: a roof over their head and a home for their family. That’s not a lot to ask for, that those who put their lives on the line for us should not be homeless.”
One of Killoran’s God-given gifts is his ability to bring together all types of volunteers to create homes for people who need it most. “We have people who commit to helping us build one home a year, and those who retire from their career and help us every week,” he said. “There are companies that bring all of their employees to work with us, and churches and schools who come to volunteer. Every youth should pick up a hammer and drop their cell phone for at least a day and help us build a home.”
Other volunteers come from a construction company that has no work for a day, so it sends their crew to help Killoran build a Westchester home; or a plumber or other tradesperson that steps forward to make a contribution through their skills.
The beauty of Killoran and the Fuller Center for Housing is that there is always an opportunity to help and to make a difference. Although the walk for homes happened last week, you can get involved in the next event.
“We are seeing homelessness at levels like the 1990s,” said Killoran. “We started our walk in Chinatown where the homeless were recently killed. It seems like it’s either luxury high-rises or shelters; it’s one extreme or the other. We can do better than that… Homelessness should not be accepted in our society. Nobody should worry about where they are going to spend the night. Instead of shuffling people from one shelter to another, let’s build them a home and give them ownership. Let’s build a co-op city for vets in Montrose.”
So, as Rising Newspapers says happy Veterans’ Day to all of those who served our nation protecting our rights – including the right to Freedom of the Press, which gives me the right to write this story – we would recommend a way that you can really help a vet who needs it: Volunteer with Killoran at the Fuller Center, or if you can’t swing a hammer, make a contribution to the Fuller Center for Housing of Greater New York City.
