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Non-profit pays off mortgage for Michigan veteran's family
A family who lost their loved one in Iraq will no longer need to worry about paying the mortgage on their Clinton Township home thanks to donations from Tunnel to Towers.
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - As the nation honors those who serve on Veterans Day, one non-profit went above and beyond, paying off 40 mortgages across the nation for fallen first responders and gold star families.
Larry Olsen of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation said one of those gold star families is in metro Detroit. Army Sgt. First Class Shawn Suzch was killed in Iraq in 2008, leaving behind his infant daughter and wife, Angela.
"He was a hero and served his country with such distinction and honor and was killed, lost his life unfortunately, to a suicide bomber with five other soldiers, and it's a very tragic reality of war, and we're just glad that we can be here for the family," said Olsen.
The family includes Angela, who is an EMT, and daughter Alyssa, now a teenager, who wants to become an orthodontist. Now they no longer have to worry about paying the mortgage on their Clinton Township home.
"She's rebuilding her life and her daughter wants to become an orthodontist, so that's going to be a lot, and we want to make sure that they have a good step forward in completing that," Olsen said.
Tunnel to Towers also serves veterans in other ways. In October, FOX 2 touched on their efforts to eradicate veteran homelessness nationwide, turning a Holiday Inn in Southfield into housing for homeless veterans.
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Had the country established something like what was being built in Southfield on Tuesday, Vietnam War Veteran Edward Williams thinks "it would have maybe saved some people's lives."
"It is vitally important to us to eradicate homelessness among the veteran population. So we know that there are over 50,000 homeless vets and those are two words that should not be together. Homeless and veterans should not be a thing," he said. "We've made it our mission to honor the sacrifice of these heroes."
It's all thanks to donations from people like you, who know Veterans Day is every day, not just once a year.
If you want to donate or learn more, you can check out the Tunnel to Towers website by tapping here.