It's A Block Party! House of Heroes CT Assists East Haven Vets, Neighbors On Hobson Street Saturday

EAST HAVEN, CT — East Haven’s Hobson Street will become an epicenter of gratitude for service and sacrifice this Saturday starting at 8 a.m., as Hamden-based Veterans Service Organization House of Heroes Connecticut takes over the block to provide no-cost home repairs and property maintenance services for four distinguished and deserving East Haven Veterans in need.

More than 30 volunteers from Project Partners Liberty Bank; Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company; and the Honorable W. Patrick Donlin Assembly 2459 of the Knights of Columbus, New Haven will join forces to assist U.S. Army and Vietnam Veteran Bill Heaney, 76, U.S. Navy Veteran Paul Murphy, 83, U.S. Navy Veteran Bernie Russo, 74 and U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Doug Stack, 86. All four men live on Hobson Street.

"This will be one special day of service, bringing together so many from far and wide to assist these four veterans and long-time neighbors," said House of Heroes Connecticut Executive Director Carol
May.

Work begins at the four homes at 8 a.m. and is expected to wrap up by early afternoon. The properties have varying needs; among the tasks to be tackled, not necessarily at each home, are power washing, painting and staining, yard clean-up, miscellaneous exterior repairs, gutter cleaning and more.

The American Legion Post 89 Auxiliary, East Haven, will provide breakfast and lunch for volunteers.

Heaney, a New Haven native, joined the Army in 1966 and served in the Army Airborne. He served in
Vietnam for more than eight months, earning a variety of honors including, among others, the Purple Heart.

Murphy, who grew up in the Fair Haven section of New Haven, served in the Navy from 1961 to
1966, including overseas duty in Italy.

Russo, who grew up in East Haven, served in the Navy from 1970 to 1972, including time in Okinawa, Japan and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Stack grew up in Schenectady, New York, and served in the Marines from 1960 to 1964. He was among those on duty off the coast of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The four projects bring House of Heroes Connecticut’s total number of Veterans served since its 2012
founding to 276 in 74 Connecticut communities and eight additional states.

A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, HOHCT recognizes, honors and serves military and public safety veterans and/or their surviving spouses in need through the provision of no-cost home repairs focusing on safety and accessibility. For more information, visit www.hohct.org.