U.S. Army veteran Patricia Golden arrived for what she thought was a routine interview. But there were signs something more was up: American flags lined the streets outside the Maitland office, and inside a red carpet led to the meeting room.
When she opened the door Monday afternoon, dozens of people shouted, “Welcome home!” Then state Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, told Golden her dilapidated family home in Eatonville would be replaced by a brand new house on the same site.
“Oh my goodness,” the 69-year-old woman screamed. “I’m just flabbergasted. I want to run. I want to shout. I’m just so appreciative and thankful.”
Building Homes for Heroes, a national organization that builds new, mortgage-free houses for disabled veterans nationwide, has a new partnership with the Greater Orlando Builders Association. That initiative will construct Golden’s new home free of charge, which she learned at Monday’s event.
Golden enlisted in the army as a legal clerk in 1977 and served until 1985. Then she became a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in Orlando.
In recent years, she faced a series of health setbacks, including two knee replacements and a battle with ovarian cancer. In 2021 she moved in temporarily with her sister in St. Cloud while she recovered from surgery, but she has never been able to move back home.
“It’s been a long journey. I’ve been living out of boxes for years,” Golden said.
Her Eatonville home was damaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022 and when she couldn’t handle the work of fixing it up, it fell into disrepair.
“There’s roof damage, drywall falling in, mold. Squatters moved in. It was a domino effect,” said John Madison, a Homes for Heroes board member.
The Eatonville home, which has been in Golden’s family for generations, will soon be torn down and construction will begin on a new house, expected to be done in June.
The new 1,200-square-foot home will be a similar one-story, bungalow design to the old one but will have added features to help Golden, who is disabled.
“We want to keep that same architectural feel. But we want to make it ADA compliant,” Madison said.
Veteran Sergeant Patricia Golden, who lost her home in Hurricane Ian, is pleased as she views a rendering of the new new mortgage-free home she will receive during a press conference in Maitland on Monday, Sept. I, 2025. Watching her reaction at middle is John Madison representing Building Homes for Heros. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
Eskamani learned about Golden’s struggles after Golden applied to have her property taxes reduced under a Florida program that waives taxes for disabled veterans. Eskamani stepped in to see if she could help with the application and learned about the state of Golden’s home.
“Folks are so private, it kind of took some effort to get Ms. Golden to share with us what was happening,” Eskamani said.
Then in July, when the Legislature appropriated $1.5 million for Homes for Heroes to expand its efforts in Florida, Eskamani helped Golden fill out an application, hoping it would help her get a new home.
Building Homes for Heroes has been building houses for disabled veterans across the country since 2006.
Orlando Army veteran Will Castillo and his family got a new home in 2009. He attended the event Monday to help celebrate with Golden.
Castillo lost a leg and endured a traumatic brain injury when a truck he was riding in was hit by an improvised explosive device in Fallujah, Iraq in 2007. Along with physical injuries, Castillo suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
He said the mortgage-free home has been life changing.
“My family and I healed in that home, and we were able to overcome and thrive,” Castillo said.
As part of the new effort, the builders association has asked local vendors to donate or discount their services.
“Our goal is to help Building Homes for Heroes by providing everything we can. So just a minimal amount of their funding needs to go towards the home. Because that way, they can use it for the next veteran’s home they’ll be building,” said John Riddle who sits on the association’s board.
Local businesses have so far donated a roof, architectural services and landscaping.
Madison estimates Golden’s home, which typically would cost about $300,000, will run the nonprofit about $50,000 to $75,000 thanks to the discounts.
“They’re linking us up with vendors galore. They’re going to make this house so incredibly inexpensive to build,” Madison said.
On Monday afternoon, Golden was told to come to the association’s office for a final interview with Homes for Heroes. But when she arrived, she was surprised with the good news that she’d already been tapped for a new home.
“First of all, may God forgive you for all the lies,” she joked after she was asked to share a few words.
Then she turned serious.
“Going into the military was the best thing I could’ve done for my life. I never could’ve imagined that I would be standing here today, that I would have a home built for me,” Golden said. “I’ll have a place to go to have some peace and just chill.”
