When a wounded veteran and his family faced homelessness, an advocacy organization and a moving company stepped in to help.
Jorge Garcia’s sustained severe injuries while serving in Afghanistan, which left him unable to work. When he medically retired from the Army in 2015, his wife, Ramona, and infant daughter, Faith, were left homeless, waiting four months for the disability payments to kick in.
Jorge Garcia with his wife Ramona and daughter FaithOperation Homefront, a national nonprofit that provides support for military families, helped the family get settled in an apartment in Orange County, California, and provided them with donated furniture. But, with their lease about to end, they could not afford to pay the rent increase. Additionally, the couple’s newborn child, Isaiah, was suffering from allergies brought on by the Southern California heat and environment.
Operation Homefront helped them find a new home in Idaho Falls, Idaho. However, they had no money left for the move and did not want to leave behind all the furniture they had just received. Priority Moving, an agent of Arpin Van Lines located in San Diego, stepped up to help.
“As far as responding to the request from Operation Homefront, it wasn’t really a question for us,” said James Lovejoy, president of Priority Moving. “We jumped right on it. We do a good amount of military work and take pride in being in the position to help a veteran and his family in need.”
Priority Moving packed the Garcia family’s belongings and placed them in storage in California. John Weeks, a driver for Arpin Van Lines, picked up the family’s household goods from storage, transported them to Idaho Falls and moved everything into the new home. The entire move was carried out free of charge.
