2018 WTHBA Homes for Heroes Recipient
The announcement, which came quickly on the heels of the awarding of a new home to Michael Vasquez, was necessitated because of a tragic loss. Homes for Heroes lost one of their own last year when previous recipient, Christopher Montez, passed away due to complications from his injuries. The home was re-gifted to new veteran recipient, Cody Leake.
Leake served 10 years in the United States Marine Corps where he was an E-06 Staff Sergeant.
He specialized as an Aircraft Rescue and Firefighter Specialist where he was involved in emergency responses which included rescue and recovery operations for both military and civilian victims with a wide range of injuries including fatalities. After many years of bravery and dedication, he was diagnosed with PTSD, TBI, and many other service-related disabilities.
Struggling with the burdens of re-entry, Leake is focused on rebuilding his life and trying to provide a safe and thriving environment for his son.
“This home will provide stability for (my son and I) physically, emotionally, and definitely financially. It means the world for me to be able to provide my son with a home so that he can have the comfortable lifestyle that he deserves. I am truly grateful for this blessing,” said Leake.
Leake said the home exceeded his expectations. “I mean, it’s gorgeous. I would have been happy with anything, to be honest with you. But this is beyond my wildest dreams.”
The West Texas Home Builders Association and Homes for Heroes put multiple hours into designing the house.
“You can obviously tell the hard work and that there were a lot of people behind the scenes that have worked very hard to make this happen. It’s hard to thank everyone,” Leake said.
Since retiring from the Marines, Leake decided to help his fellow veterans by dedicating his life to counsel other veterans who face similar problems.
“This right here says it all, for individuals to give such a great gift to me and my son makes all those years and hard sacrifice and everything. Not just for me, but for all veterans, it’s just such an amazing gift. I hope that this continues throughout our community,” said Leake
