Medford, Ore. — A local veteran was given the keys to his new home on Wednesday.
Mr. Verschoor didn’t want to go on camera for an interview, but he said it was an honor for the community to come together in such a meaningful way.
Neighbors, city leaders, and representatives from nearly 30 local organizations gifted Verschoor with a new place to call home.
“I cannot even imagine how excited he must be. It’s beautiful inside, it’s small so he can manage it,” a neighbor said.
Last fall, a citizen complained about the condition of Verschoor’s former house.
When city officials went to inspect it, they realized it was uninhabitable.
“He was living here in a very derelict condition. It was practically subsistence living in a way, and the house was literally falling down around him,” Medford Mayor Wheeler said.
The city had to either evict him, or come up with another solution.
After learning Verschoor is a veteran who has served the nation, many from the community stepped in to help.
“Everybody that’s here has volunteered labor, materials and time to do this, and are doing it because they want to,” Mayor Wheeler said.
Once plans were approved, the project took 90 days to complete.
The coordinated effort will benefit Verschoor for the rest of his life — something the city is happy to play a small part of, in order to serve a man who’s served our country.
“I’m very proud of us. When we can do something like this, it’s a great sense of pride that we can actually help somebody. Bring them in, give them a place to live, give them a comfortable home and other things. I think it’s just terrific,” Mayor Wheeler said.
The goal was to get Mr. Verschoor into the home by Memorial Day.
Everyone involved is thankful he’ll now have the entire weekend to enjoy his new place.
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