Nonprofit donates custom home in this East Bay city for Marine injured in Afghanistan

BYRON – When Marine Sgt. Kyle Garcia stepped on an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Sangin, Afghanistan, he knew exactly what hit him, but he had no idea how completely his life would change.

“I knew instantly what happened,” the Marine scout sniper said. “I knew better than to look because I didn’t want to go into shock.”

The East Bay native, then 23, lost his left leg and severely damaged his right leg in the 2011 blast.

He would later be fitted with a prosthetic leg and undergo months of physical therapy at a base in Southern California. But transitioning to a new life, often bound to his wheelchair, would prove even more difficult. With nerve damage in his right leg, Garcia experienced weaknesses sometimes called “drop foot,” and once-simple tasks like getting on and off furniture, into the bathtub and climbing stairs became more of a challenge.

“Most of my problems were wheelchair-related,” the now-35-year-old Garcia said.

Life would soon get a lost easier though for Garcia, his wife Crystal and young son Louis, when he learned he would receive a new adapted custom home in East Contra Costa County through Homes for Our Troops, a national nonprofit that supports severely injured soldiers. He credits friends with the Wounded Warrior Project for encouraging him to apply for a HFOT home.

On Saturday, the national nonprofit organization gave Garcia and his family something that will change their world: the keys to a mortgage-free, custom home in rural Byron with an open-floor plan that will make getting around the various rooms easy. Because it’s a single story, he will no longer have to make a difficult walk with his prosthesis up the stairs, as he does now in his Oakley rental home.

The now-medically retired Marine, who grew up in Pinole, chose the Byron location, so he and his wife could be near family and enjoy the large, flat yard.

“I was definitely excited when I heard (of the house gift), but you don’t want to get your hopes up… so you kind of tried to curb your expectations, because it seems so incredible,” he said.

J.R. Wilson, president of the Delta Veterans Group, was there with others on Saturday and several weeks before that when he and other volunteers laid down sod and planted trees and bushes to landscape the yard of the rural home. Other volunteers have been building the four-bedroom house for the past year.

“When I think of these kinds of projects, I always think of the veteran regaining their independence,” Wilson said. “Not only with independence, but with his ability to be a husband, and the father that he wants to be.”

In the past two decades, the HFOT nonprofit has built and donated more than 375 homes in 45 states, according to Bill Ivey, executive director, who said in the nonprofit’s most recent newsletter that “there are nearly 1,000 more severely injured post-9/11 veterans still in need of the secure and accessible homes they deserve.”

Garcia said the homes give “veterans their dignity back.”

His new residence features more than 40 major special adaptations, such as widened doorways for wheelchair access, a roll-in shower and kitchen amenities that include pull-down shelving and lowered countertops. The home will also alleviate the mobility and safety issues associated with a traditional home, including navigating a wheelchair through narrow hallways or over carpets, or reaching for cabinets that are too high.

Crystal Garcia, in a HFOT nonprofit video about the donation, said she was “excited” that her husband would be able to more easily get around. She secured a moving truck to come the day after they got the keys, so they could move in quickly, Kyle Garcia said.

The nonprofit is able to donate the home to Garcia thanks to contributions from donors, supporters, and corporate partners, according to a spokesman for HFOT.

Not surprisingly, the Garcias are grateful for their new home in Byron.

Having a mortgage-free home “is huge for our family … it’s the No. 1 expense for almost all families,” Garcia said.

Having completed his bachelor’s degree at San Francisco State and later law school in Missouri – all while still recuperating – Garcia has now begun work as an associate attorney in Pleasanton. With his house worries behind him, he is able to focus his energy on his family.

“This is going to pretty much allow us to live here in the Bay Area,” he said of his new home. “And hopefully, when the time comes, I can afford to send my son to college on my own.”

Homes for Our Troops has more than 81 active projects underway nationwide. To find out more on how to get involved or make a donation, visit www.hfotusa.org.