It was especially emotional since it was built just for his family and given to him by Jared Allen’s Homes for Wounded Warriors organization and the various companies that donated time, resources, and work into the home.

The important word of this event – as Tom Lutz, executive secretary treasurer of the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters, said – is ‘home’.

“It’s where you’re able to find your comfort,” Lutz said at the podium in front of the Body’s new home. “That’s why it matters so much that this house was designed and built to be fully accessible. So it can fulfill the promise to be (Bobby’s) home so he can continue to do his work and his new purpose, continuing to serve others.”

Lutz said the house needed to be fully accessible because Body is a disabled veteran. In 2006, a bomb struck his vehicle in Iraq and severely injured his left leg. After many attempts to heal the wounded limb, it was ultimately amputated above the knee.

News Photo by Michael Gonzalez Bobby Body and his son, Jayden Body, both cut the red ribbon to the family’s new home alongside Bobby’s wife, Erin Body, and the leaders of the house project in Harrisville on Thursday.

Now, Body is a Paralympic powerlifter and peer support specialist for other veterans and amputees. Last week, he set a world record at the Veracruz 2023 World Cup for men in up to 107 kg in the Legends age group by bench pressing 479 pounds.

Body received the opportunity to receive his new house after a fateful meeting with Alex Karalexis, the executive director of Allen’s organization during a guided tour of the UFC center in Las Vegas.

After hearing his story from peers, Karalexis had a feeling Body would be a great candidate for his national non-profit organization.

Homes for Wounded Warriors’ mission, as stated on the organization’s website, “is to raise money to build and remodel injury-specific, accessible, and mortgage-free homes for our critically injured United States Military Veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Karalexis met with Body and asked him what his living situation was. To Body, he was confused and told Karalexis everything. After hearing that the organization would build them a house, Body and his wife, Erin, thought this was a practical joke.

News Photo by Michael Gonzalez The Body family is greeted by Homes for Wounded Warriors Chairman, Jared Allen on Facetime via Director of Operations Amanda Rahtz’s phone in the Bodys’ new home in Harrisville on Thursday.

“He emailed me and said, ‘Hey, can we set up a Zoom call?’,” Body explained. “(I’m thinking) I’m not going to be disabled enough for them to build the house for free, you know? But then Jared (Allen) was on the call, and they’re like, ‘No, we’re gonna build your house’. And then (Erin) started crying, like, ‘Oh my God, we’re gonna really get a house.'”

Body and his family lived in Waterford in a less than 1,200-square-foot house. During his time there, Body was in a wheelchair that made tasks as small as going to the bathroom difficult.

The building of Body’s new home started in 2019 and, after many delays, the house was officially finished in 2023.

After many speeches, moments of gratitude toward the many contributors to the donated house, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, the Body family finally came into their new home and was given time before others could come in to fully take in their living arrangement.

The three-hour ceremony was filled with friends, family, and contributors cheering and observing the fine design of the household. Jayden, the Bodys’ youngest child, went into his room, planning how his new room would look. Erin went around to all the friends and family to talk about the work that was put into the project, making it clear that this truly was everything for their family.

Bobby was mostly found in his new gym, completely geared with UFC equipment. The house was filled with his hearty laughs throughout the entire event.

“(Accessibility) is why the work of Jared Allen’s Homes for Wounded Warriors is so important and why we were eager and proud to contribute,” Lutz said. “Brother Body, on behalf of my brothers and sisters and this community across our state: Welcome home.”