BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Operation Homefront is a nonprofit that places former military families in homes for two to three years in hopes that they purchase that home when they graduate from the program. While in the program, veterans and their families receive a lot of guidance.
Gracie Broll, Operation Homefront's vice president of transitional and permanent housing, explains how the program helps veterans transition into life after the military by facilitating housing and providing guidance on finances and the process of purchasing a home.
“They get assigned a financial counselor that will work with them each month, kind of go over their finances, talk to them about not only what they can get approved for but what they can actually afford. We'd have them take a homebuyer workshop course as well. That way they can kind of get more familiar with the process,” said Broll.
Broll says they chose Bentonville for their expansion because they heard such good things about the community. She says they have already purchased two homes that are being built and if all goes well, they will look into purchasing more. Any veteran who is within one to three years of being honorably discharged from the military is eligible for the program.
“It kind of builds that foundation of security, so you can grow and kind of, I guess, grow in your own way. And just make sure that your family is taken care of for years to come. One of the things that I think is really important about Operation Homefront, one of the things I love the most, is that we're not just looking out for just a veteran, we're watching out for the entire family,” she said.
Nationwide, they’ve already had 30 families join the program and 20 of them graduate and purchase a home since 2018. She thinks the transition from the military world to civilian life can be challenging at times, and once you have a place to call home, everything else becomes easier.
Broll says families don't think they'll ever own a home when they first come in, but Operation Homefornt is there to help them achieve the American Dream.
“I think we're making it happen. And I think no one deserves it more than our military families,” she said.
Operation Homefront is looking to possibly open a small office in Bentonville. Applications for the two homes in Bentonville are now open.
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