Daily Herald opinion: Turning gratitude into action: Vets’ Habitat for Humanity project shows what true service looks like

For many veterans, service to their country doesn’t end when they leave the military. It simply takes on a new form.

This past weekend, that spirit of continued service was on display across the Chicago area, where roughly 170 volunteers, many of them veterans themselves, rolled up their sleeves for Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity’s fifth annual Veterans Build.

The initiative, which took place in DuPage, Lake, McHenry, Cook, Will and Grundy counties, saw volunteers building, repairing and restoring homes for those who once wore the uniform.

It is easy to thank veterans with words. But Habitat for Humanity turns gratitude into action. By focusing on veterans’ housing needs, the organization is addressing a crisis too often overlooked.

More than 91,000 Illinois veterans live in homes that are overcrowded, unsafe or unaffordable. Nationwide, aging veterans and those who served after 9/11 face growing financial strain, while female veterans are more likely to experience housing instability. The numbers tell a troubling story, but Habitat for Humanity offers a hopeful response.

Founded in 1976, the nonprofit has always believed in partnership rather than charity. Homeowners put in “sweat equity,” working alongside volunteers to build their own homes.

As Brian Worrall, Chicagoland Habitat’s chief marketing and technology officer, put it, “The model has been to give a hand up, not a hand out.”

That philosophy is the cornerstone of Habitat’s enduring success and the reason its Veterans Build program, established nationally in 2013 and locally in 2021, has already helped more than 90 veterans across the region with the help of more than 700 volunteers.

What makes this initiative truly powerful is its message: Service never ends. Veterans are not merely recipients of assistance. They are central participants in the process, giving back even as they receive support. The construction sites of Veterans Build become places where comradery, purpose and community are rebuilt alongside walls and roofs.

In a time when political division and economic uncertainty can make people feel disconnected, Habitat for Humanity’s work stands as a reminder of what real service and community look like. Building homes for veterans is more than an act of charity, it’s an act of national gratitude. These projects prove that when people unite in purpose, they can rebuild not just houses, but hope itself.