Tunnels to Towers: A Mortgage Paid Off for an Injured Veteran, and $10 Million Committed for Veteran Housing

An Injured Veteran’s Mortgage Is Paid Off in Colorado

On Friday, November 6, 2026, the Tunnels to Towers Foundation announced it paid off the mortgage for U.S. Army Sergeant Major Daniel Hendrix and his family in Monument, Colorado, through its Smart Home Program. The foundation also completed accessibility renovations to the home so it better fits the family’s needs after his service-related injuries. Local Colorado news station KRDO covered the announcement, which is the kind of story that never gets old: a family that gave so much, sleeping easier in a home that is truly theirs.

The Smart Home Program is Tunnels to Towers’ work for injured service members: mortgage-free, custom-built or renovated homes with accessible design, so a veteran injured in service can live with dignity and independence. Every Smart Home means a family that does not have to choose between medical needs and a roof, and that is exactly the mission Sam’s Heroes exists to amplify.

$10 Million Pledged for Veteran Housing in Coral Springs

Then on Sunday, November 8, 2026, Tunnels to Towers pledged $10 million to convert a former La Quinta hotel in Coral Springs, Florida into permanent housing for about 100 veterans. The foundation had floated the idea of converting this property back in October; this week’s announcement turns that proposal into a funded commitment. Converted hotels have become one of the foundation’s fastest paths to creating homes for veterans in need, with wrap-around services on site.

That pattern is visible across the country: the Southfield, Michigan Veterans Village opened in October with about 92 units of affordable permanent housing for veterans, the Northfield, New Jersey Veterans Village broke ground October 28 and will serve roughly 120 veterans, and the Memphis Veterans Village is already open with about 110 units. More than a dozen cities now have completed or planned villages. The promise behind all of them is the same: veterans should not experience homelessness in the country they served.

5Ks and a Golf Classic Keep Rolling Through November

The fall 5K season is in full swing. The Santa Rosa, California 5K and the Huntsville 5K both ran on Saturday, November 7, with the St. John’s Golf Classic the same day. Sunday, November 8 brought the Acadiana 5K in Louisiana and the sixth annual Bluffton, South Carolina 5K. Up next: The Villages, Florida and Sacramento, California on Saturday, November 14, with Brooksville, Florida closing out the month on November 21.

For Southern Californians, the calendar is genuinely close to home: Santa Rosa ran this weekend in Northern California, and Sacramento runs November 14 at William Land Park (registration starts around $10 to $35 at t2t.org). After Huntington Beach hosted its first Tunnels to Towers 5K in September, California families now have real, drivable options to run, walk, or cheer for hero families nearly every month.

The 343 Commitment: Mortgage-Free Homes Keep Adding Up

The November announcements continue the foundation’s 343 Commitment, the living memorial to the 343 New York City firefighters killed on September 11, 2001. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11 this year, Tunnels to Towers announced 55 mortgage payoffs in a single day, and the 2026 pace keeps the foundation on track to exceed 2,000 mortgage-free homes delivered across its 25-year history by the end of the year. Every payoff announced between now and December 31 is another family reached, and the announcements have been arriving weekly.

Why This Matters to Southern California

You might wonder why a REALTOR in Santa Clarita follows a New York-founded foundation so closely. The answer is simple: Tunnels to Towers’ work lands in Southern California, too. The Huntington Beach 5K in September, the Sacramento 5K this month, the veterans who relocate here for care and community, and the hero families right here in the Santa Clarita Valley who benefit from mortgage-free homes and Smart Home renovations. When a foundation pays off a mortgage, it creates the same stability I help families find every day in escrow: the security of knowing the home is yours.

This is also why I built Sam’s Heroes: to give back to veterans, first responders, teachers, nurses, and special-needs families through real estate, with meaningful benefits at closing and veteran-to-veteran guidance along the way. The Silver Standard is about more than a great marketing plan. It is about carrying the mission forward, one family at a time.

How You Can Help

You do not have to run a marathon to make a difference. Donate directly at t2t.org, join a local 5K (Sacramento on November 14 is the closest one for Santa Clarita families), or simply share this post with someone who served. If you know a hero family in Southern California who is ready to buy or sell a home, tell them about Sam’s Heroes. However big or small your part, the mission works because ordinary people keep showing up. That is what Service Before Self looks like in action.

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