New home gives veteran a new start

Matias Ferreira, a Marine Corps veteran who has recovered from severe injuries he suffered while deployed in Afghanistan, is receiving a new house from the non-profit organization Homes for Our Troops.

The group is honoring the 27-year-old, who up until recently lived in Wantagh, at a fundraiser on June 15 in Island Park. “I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “It’s been a long time since I put on my uniform.”

Ferreira is just one of 200 veterans across the country whom Homes for Our Troops has helped since it formed in 2004. The houses it builds have more than 40 special adaptations, such as lowered countertops, roll-in sinks and showers, automatic doors and open floor plans. They are given to veterans mortgage-free.

“Without having a mortgage, they are able to start families, go to school, focus on hobbies and live with less stress,” said Teresa Verity, the organization’s marketing coordinator.

Ferreira first heard about the group when he was 22. He had not yet met his wife, Tiffany. He hadn’t held his baby daughter, Tianna. Owning a home felt far off. He was focused on making a recovery from an injury that took both his legs and broke his pelvis.

It happened during his deployment in 2011. As a lance corporal, Ferreira was leading a night operation in Helmand province in Afghanistan. He jumped off a roof and landed on an improvised explosive device. Rescued by a Navy corpsman, he was taken to a nearby hospital, where his legs were amputated. It all happened quickly, Ferreira said. In two days he was back in the U.S., relieved to see his family and ready to begin his rehabilitation.

“At first I felt ashamed. I wasn’t supposed to be back yet,” he said. “I thought my family would be mad, but they were nothing but supportive.”

Ferreira had lots of motivation to recover. His parents stayed with him for the first few months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Seeing other amputees active there gave him hope for a full recovery. And his adviser told him he could greet his fellow troops when they returned to North Carolina.

“I had something to work for,” he said. “By the time they got back, I was walking again.”

He didn’t stop at just walking, though. At first, he did not expect to be rehabilitated to the extent that he is today. It took eight months of surgeries and therapy. With prosthetics, he has run a half marathon, and now rides a motorcycle. Last October he rescued a baby from a burning car.

He said he has always wanted to “be involved in any way possible and defend those who can’t defend themselves.”

His beginnings

Ferreira was born in Uruguay. When he was 6, he and his family moved to Atlanta. He recalls going to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics with his father and seeing men in uniform. He respected the military from a young age.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he and his friends talked about going into the service.

“We looked up to policemen and soldiers like our heroes, and I wanted to be that for my country,” he said.

He joined the Marines in May 2009, a year after graduating from high school. At Morrow High School in Atlanta he was captain of the wrestling team and played baseball and football — and it was sports that ultimately got him active again after his injury.

At the rehabilitation center, he joined the Wounded Warriors softball team. The team was out one night in Smithtown to celebrate winning a tournament. When Ferreira stepped outside the bar to make a phone call, he struck up a conversation with a young woman walking her dog for “Yappy Hour.”

Sometime later, that woman, Tiffany, recognized Ferreira on the news. She sent him an email, thanking him for his service to our country.

They were married in June 2014. That November, their daughter was born. At the time, the family lived in Wantagh with Tiffany’s mother. They just recently moved to a rented home in Merrick.

Ferreira applied to Homes for Our Troops after getting married, realizing the impact it would have on his family. “I won’t have to work my whole life, and I’ll have a college fund for my daughter,” he said. “I thank Homes for Our Troops for setting me up for success.”

The couple originally wanted to build a home in Wantagh and be close to Tiffany’s family. But because of spacing codes to make the home wheelchair accessible, Wantagh was not an option. While Ferreira does not need these accommodations now, he was told that when he gets older, he may need to use a wheelchair. A specially adapted home will allow him to remain independent throughout his life.

They now have a lot chosen where they first met, in Smithtown. Ferreira said that Smithtown has a great school district for their daughter and enough space for their new ranch-style home. Approval for the lot will be completed in the next two months, at which point construction should begin and last from eight to 10 months.

“People my age are still working to buy a home, so this is just a blessing,” he said. “It’s a big life-changer.”
Helping people and reaching out to the community is what he lives to do, Ferreira said. Although medically retired from the Marines in May 2012, he will not stop living the life he has wanted since he was young. He has completed the preliminary steps to join the Suffolk County Police Department, and now waits to hear when he can start at the academy.

The fundraiser for Homes for Our Troops will take place at 6 p.m. at the Bridgeview Yacht Club in Island Park. For more information, contact LIBOR Nassau South Shore Chapter at (516) 825-2000.