January 24, 2017
DUNCANSVILLE — Navy veteran Jeff Campbell and his family received the keys to a new house built for them through an organization called Helping A Hero.
Campbell served as a nuclear electrician on the USS George Washington.
He now suffers from multiple sclerosis due to prolonged exposure to an unknown substance during his service.
Helping A Hero, a Houston-based nonprofit organization presented keys to Campbell and his family to its second specially adapted home in Pennsylvania.
The house is specially constructed to fit the family’s needs.
Campbell said his condition can make getting around the house and doing things that most might take for granted extremely difficult.
“I fell down the stairs on more than one occasion, and, fortunately, I won’t have that problem here,” said Campbell, who usually uses a wheelchair.
The house was built to make everyday tasks easier and safer.
“I can just roll one room to the next not having to worry about the stairs,” he said.
With five kids, including a 6-week-old baby girl named Leah, Campbell said he can now be a dad without having to worry about navigating the house.
“In the kitchen you notice everything’s spread further apart so the wheelchair will fit around it, and in the bathrooms, the counter’s raised up a little bit, and there’s no cabinets underneath, so I can roll my wheelchair underneath of it,” he said of the design.
Another veteran, Dennis Leonard, and his family received their home through Helping A Hero a few years ago. The Leonards were there to welcome the Campbells into the new home.
“It just makes life so much easier not having to worry about ‘I gotta plan on how to get into this room, or I gotta set up stuff ahead of time so that I can do this,’ Leonard said. “You can just zip around, and do whatever you need to do.”
“It’s gonna make my life a whole lot easier,” Campbell said.