Tunnel to Towers Delivers Mortgage-Free Smart Home to Injured Army Veteran

Tunnel to Towers Delivers Mortgage-Free Smart Home to Injured Army Veteran

On Saturday, April 29, 2023, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation welcomed home the second family into the Let Us Do Good Village –– U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Sualauvi Tuimaleali’ifano, his wife and children.  

His home is the first mortgage-free smart home built in the Tunnel to Towers Let Us Do Good Village located in Land O’Lakes Florida.  

Born in American Samoa, SFC Tuimaleali’ifano moved to Hawaii when he was a child. He enlisted in the U.S. Army after graduating high school and served three combat tours, first to Iraq in 2003 and then to Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007. 

In July of 2007, just a month before the end of his third deployment, SFC Tuimaleali’ifano was wounded due to undiagnosed previous combat injuries, and as a result he was left paralyzed with no sensation or function from his chest down.

After many difficult years of surgery and rehab, SFC Tuimaleali’ifano found a new passion as an Adaptive athlete participating in the Warrior Games as a player, coach, and ambassador from 2014 to 2020. He competed for Team USA in the 2016 and 2018 Invictus bringing home the gold medal for Wheelchair Rugby. 

In attendance at the special Hawaiian home dedication celebration is SFC Tuimaleali’ifano and his family, Pasco County District 1 Commissioner Ron Oakley, Executive Vice President of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation Matthew Mahoney, Executive Vice President of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation Jeanna DellaRagione, USMC Sgt (Retired) Corporal Arthur Madden of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, Master Public Information Officer at Pasco County Fire Corey Dierdorff, Retired Command Sergeant Major Ted Martin, Executive Director of Florida Department of Veterans Affairs Major General James S. Hammer Hartsell, Local VIPs, partners and sponsors.

SFC Tuimaleali’ifano’s smart home is outfitted with automatic doors, and wider hallways, allowing him to freely move through the home in his wheelchair. The kitchen features lower counter space, pull-down cabinet shelves, and a stove that raises and lowers to wheelchair height. The home’s lights, thermostat, and security system can be controlled via an app allowing him to control many aspects of the home without having to get up or ask for help.

The Tunnel to Towers Smart Home Program builds specially-adapted, smart homes to help our most catastrophically injured veterans live more independently. 

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation Let Us Do Good Village will be a community of nearly 100 homes provided mortgage-free, to our nation’s catastrophically injured veterans and first responders as well as America’s Gold Star and Fallen First Responder families. 

 Join us on our mission to provide mortgage-free homes to the heroes and the families they leave behind by donating $11 per month at t2t.org.