Last Updated on January 22, 2024 by Luke Feldbrugge
Upstate Warrior Solution is a community-based nonprofit serving military veterans and first responders, plus their families in the upstate of South Carolina. Since 2013, they have served nearly 9,000 warriors and their families with housing, employment, healthcare, education, family support and more. The Homes for Heroes Foundation awarded a grant to Upstate Warrior Solution to assist a law enforcement member and his family after he was shot on a routine traffic stop.
Upstate Warrior Solution Grant Check Presentation with Jay Flynn
The Homes for Heroes Foundation awarded the Upstate Warrior Solution a $5,000 hero grant to provide support for Oconee County Deputy, Corporal Lucas Watts.
Jay Flynn, Foundation Director with Homes for Heroes, meets with Theresa Thompson, COO of Upstate Warrior Solution, Oconee County Sheriff, Mike Crenshaw, and Homes for Heroes Real Estate Specialist, Celeste Purdie to briefly discuss Upstate Warrior Solution and how the funds received from the Homes for Heroes Foundation grant will assist their initiatives.
You can watch the full interview here or read the transcript of the interview below.
Jay: Hi, I’m Jay Flynn, Homes for Heroes Foundation Director. And I’m joined today by Theresa Thompson, Sheriff Crenshaw, and Celeste Purdie, Homes for Heroes real estate specialist here in Greenville, South Carolina. Theresa is the COO of Upstate Warrior Solution. Thank you guys for joining me today, and I appreciate you allowing me to be here with you.
All: Thank you. Thank you.
Jay: As part of the Homes for Heroes Circle Giving, the Homes for Heroes Foundation looks to partner with great organizations like Upstate Warrior Solution to help our heroes in need. So Theresa, Celeste and I are honored to present this $5,000 Homes for Heroes Foundation check.
So let’s just take a minute to talk a little bit about Upstate Warrior Solution. Teresa, please tell us how it came to be and what your mission is.
Theresa: Thank you. First of all, we’re grateful for the support, much appreciated for us and our friends and family at Oconee County Sheriff’s Office. We really appreciate it. Our mission started ten years ago with veterans, and our overall mission is to improve the lives of warriors and within that bucket now includes first responders. So we fill gaps, create better access to care.
A couple of years ago, we realized first responders operate in the same extraordinary circumstances that veterans often do. They just don’t have a lot of the same resources that veterans have, especially at the community level.
So our goal is to find first responders, connect with them, and then connect them to services they might need; whether it’s mental health or peer support. We’re really getting into the peer support game. Sometimes it’s employment assistance if they are transitioning out. It’s a huge leap, not only for veterans but for first responders. When they leave, they still have that purpose that they want. So it’s really our goal to help improve the lives and the lives of their families.
Jay: That’s awesome. So, Celeste, Homes for Heroes real estate specialist, obviously Upstate Warrior Solution has a special place in your heart. Tell us a little bit about what that means to you and why you support it so much.
Celeste: Well, I’m a veteran, and when I heard about Homes for Heroes, I definitely wanted to continue giving back to heroes. And to date, I’ve given about $30,000 back to local heroes.
So when I learned about Upstate Warrior Solution, I was extremely excited about their mission. They are on the same mission. I am serving people, helping people, helping people live better lives. And when I heard that they were starting the veterans center, I was super excited because my broker, Seabrook Merchant, he’s a veteran as well. He was super excited and decided to create a satellite office in their space.
I get an opportunity every day to be inspired by veterans walking in the door, first responders walking in the door. It’s really uplifting and a really great space.
Jay: You’re right here in the heart of the space to help people every day. And that’s what Homes for Heroes is all about, is thanking every hero in the nation and giving back.
All right. So, Theresa, this $5,000 Homes for Heroes Foundation grant has a really special purpose and meaning.
Theresa: So of course, we don’t like these types of events. As we know, though, realistically across the country, violence against law enforcement is increasing across the country. And it’s our job as a community to step in and help our police, fire and EMS when that happens. We see it as our mission to help support them in all efforts because that’s what they need.
Lucas Watts was injured and the sheriff, we’ll talk about that more. His family, they’re going to have a long, long recovery ahead of them. And we can never, ever, ever forget his sacrifice. And as a matter of fact, we won’t allow our community to ever forget that sacrifice. So we are so happy that you are allowing us to help in a small way that can help care for Lucas Watts’ family.
Jay: So Sheriff, we were chatting a little bit about how Corporal Watts is, and what’s been going on. Please take a few minutes and talk about the situation, how it’s affecting your office and how this might help support the family.
Sheriff Crenshaw: Sure. I guess I will go back to November 16th. Corporal Watts was on a routine traffic stop, something that law enforcement does every day across the country. As a result of that traffic stop, the suspect fired shots through the windshield and struck Corporal Watts in the head. Very, very grave situation at the time.
He was transported to a hospital and we thought we’d lost him. We were actually told that he was not going to make it. So we got him to the hospital and God performed a miracle and saved his life. And currently he is in Atlanta in a rehabilitation center. He has a long road ahead of him, but he’s making progress.
Just last week for the very first time, 44 days after that, he talked and he’s continuing to recover. He did lose his right eye as a result of this encounter. But his left eye is good. He’s continuing to talk. The doctors have told us and told the family, this is very similar to a very bad stroke. Where he will need to learn to talk again and walk again. But Lucas is a fighter, so we’re certainly proud of him.
He has a wife and a small baby son, probably about three months old now. They’re in Atlanta and they’re supporting him every day.
Jay: We’re so honored, Celeste and I, that we can contribute this; what feels like a very small piece of the puzzle. But we realize that everybody coming together is going to continue to support that family. And that’s what’s important.
Theresa, the folks watching want to learn more about the Upstate Warrior Solution. Where can they go?
Theresa: You can find us in a lot of areas. Our website, we’re on Facebook or Instagram, or on LinkedIn, you can connect with us through any of those means.
You can email us through our website. There’s so many ways that you can get connected. You can even refer veterans and first responders who may just want to be involved, or others who may need assistance. You can refer them to our website. So please reach out, especially here in the Upstate of South Carolina. We’re here to help.
Jay: Absolutely. And you guys are doing such great work. You know, you’ve given me a tour of the facility, wonderful location, wonderful place. You’re trying to do all kinds of outreach to our hero groups. Volunteers are important to you I would assume?
Theresa: Yes, we do have a volunteer program that’s a little more structured in terms of justice involving veterans. You know, we need mentors.
We are looking for some first responder types that may want to volunteer with our first responders. We have a first responder committee that started about a year ago, very active group with all sorts of different people on it. So people who just want to be involved and help make lives better and give back.
Donate to Upstate Warrior Solution
Well, thank you so much for allowing me to join you today. Celeste, thank you for being here to help present the $5,000 Homes for Heroes Foundation grant. Sheriff, it was an honor to meet you. And for those watching us, we appreciate you taking the time to join us today.
I hope everyone has a great rest of your day. And remember, just take a minute today to say thank you to a hero.
Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving
Grants from the Homes for Heroes Foundation are made possible by the Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving and its network of real estate and mortgage professionals. Homes for Heroes, Inc. is committed to providing savings to community heroes; such as firefighters, EMS, law enforcement, military (active duty, reserves and veterans), healthcare professionals and teachers.
To expand its Circle of Giving, Homes for Heroes, Inc., donates a portion of its earnings to the Homes for Heroes Foundation. So, every time a hero buys or sells a home using the Homes for Heroes program, they are helping other heroes across the country facing a housing crisis or who are in need of urgent financial assistance.
If you are interested in learning more about how Homes for Heroes can guide you through the home buying, selling or refinancing process AND save you an average of $3,000 after closing, simply sign up to speak with a member of their team. They will follow up with you to answer all of your questions. When you tell them you’re feeling ready to speak with their local specialists in your area about home buying, selling, or refinancing, they will connect you with their local specialists to begin the process.
Simply visit the Homes for Heroes Foundation page if you’re interested in learning more about where it has awarded recent grants to hero organizations throughout the country, how much they’ve awarded to date, and how it all works.
If you’re interested in supporting and donating to the Homes for Heroes Foundation to assist heroes in need, please visit their donation page to submit your contribution via PayPal. And, thank you for your interest and support.
Thank you for watching another Homes for Heroes Foundation grant video about the impact it is making nationally and in local hero communities, along with hero supporting nonprofits who use the grant dollars they receive to assist the heroes they serve.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Homes for Heroes YouTube channel to get notified of the new hero grants awarded by the Homes for Heroes foundation.
