Military life can be isolating. He found a way to help airmen find purpose and community

By Allie Torgan, CNN

Abilene, Texas (CNN) — The marching orders were clear. In 1996, Master Sergeant Gordon Storey was tasked with launching and leading a volunteer program on Dyess Air Force Base. He and fellow airmen would paint and repair homes for local community residents.

Storey, who at the time was a very young staff sergeant, accepted the charge. Then, panic set in.

“I’m like, you’re putting me in charge of home renovations, and I don’t even know how to repair things!” he said.

More than two decades later, Storey and his nonprofit, the Dyess We Care Team – with the help of nearly 15,000 volunteers – have completed hundreds of projects for the elderly and others in need in and around Abilene, Texas. The group has logged almost 100,000 hours fixing up homes in what is a win-win for the community and the airmen.

“A lot of times these young airmen, they’re separated from their families, their friends,” Storey said. “They come into the military and it’s such a complete change.”

Storey knows firsthand how difficult the transition from civilian to military life can be. Raised in a military family, he joined the Air Force in 1986 but soon wondered if he had made the right decision.

“I was sent to Tucson, Arizona. I left family, left friends, left the love of my life that would later become my wife, and I’m plopped in the middle of the desert,” said Storey, who grew up in Georgia. “I signed up for six years, and I’m like, ‘What have I done?’”

In his assignment, Storey says he worked in a building with no windows doing menial office tasks. It was on the weekends, working on community service projects, where he found solace and purpose. He dubbed those projects “his life preserver.”

“Having some outreach into the community is very crucial to an airmen’s overall mental health,” Storey said. “Suicide has always been something that the military has struggled with. If you can get people into social groupings, you reduce the rate of suicides. It breaks that social isolation.”

A mission to combat the stress of military life

Years later, as a staff sergeant working in the Air Force equal opportunity division, Storey’s day job involved analyzing wellness and satisfaction surveys. He says he learned that some airmen were feeling unhappy, isolated, and unfulfilled. He also learned that alcohol was a frequent go-to to pass the time.

After doing research on the impacts of volunteering, Storey submitted a proposal to his commanding officer outlining the volunteer program to help community members in need with minor home repair. The project took off. As more and more airmen got involved, Storey says he saw morale improve.

“These projects are providing the opportunity and the conduit for the airmen to work together,” he said. “Things like the finished house is what I call an after-effect.”

Storey has also been able to pass the “leadership” baton to enthusiastic and dedicated airmen to give them opportunities to shine off the base. For every project, he works with a team leader to prepare, often planning and scheduling behind the scenes months ahead of a project.

“They learn how to become leaders and learn how to be a better tool for the military,” Storey said. “For the people that do love it, they can find their niche, and that’s just going to make them better in the Air Force.”

Storey says the work lets the community see the airmen’s true colors and gives airmen a new sense of purpose.

“When you’ve got a granny coming out in a wheelchair seeing her new ramp – it’s hard to be sad or depressed,” Storey said.

All hands on deck

Today, the group receives about 10 to 15 requests a month; most are from people who are elderly or are struggling financially.

Carole Morton, who is wheelchair bound and cares for her husband, who has dementia, put in a request to have the trim on her house painted.

“On my Social Security check, I couldn’t afford even to have somebody paint the trim,” Morton said. “With all the rain and things, I thought it’s just going to rot away.”

The request for new trim soon grew in scale when Storey did a site visit and discovered other ways to create a safer and healthier indoor and outdoor space for Morton. He and his team created a punch list of items and enlisted local professionals for the things that required licensed workers.

“We’re very fortunate to have the support of community contractors, electricians, plumbers, and people that are qualified to construct wheelchair accessible ramps,” Storey said. “That enables us to branch out and take on more than just simple house painting.”

With about 200 volunteers from the base and community, airmen and civilians worked in tandem on weekends for a month to repair and paint Morton’s home.

“It’s different than somebody just doing it for you,” Morton said. “They are all so excited. And they’re just so happy. And it’s that joy and that willingness that just adds so much to it.”

Storey says on average the We Care Team organizes nearly 500 volunteers and conducts 30 to 45 projects each year. Now retired from active duty, Storey is a full-time social worker in addition to serving his organization and community.

“I think what I feel most proud about is when I see the friendships and the connectivity, people that would have never met each other,” Storey said. “I would love to see other bases say, ‘If that bald retiree can do it, certainly we can.’”

Want to get involved? Check out the Dyess We Care Team website and see how to help.

To donate to the Dyess We Care Team via GoFundMe, click here

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