![\"Wounded](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/CVC-L-UNAHOME-0829-2.jpg\")
Wounded war veteran Jody Tighe, of Scranton, at the site of his future home in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (JASON ARDAN \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\nFacing discrimination<\/p>\n
Scranton native Jody Tighe has faced a lot of struggles in life, from a childhood spent in foster care to discrimination to injuries suffered during his military service.<\/p>\n
It was his determination and success in overcoming those challenges and a desire to give back to the community that earned him the opportunity to acquire a new home in Wilkes-Barre through an affordable housing program.<\/p>\n
The Veterans Oversight Committee of United NEPA Alliance chose Tighe, 46, to participate in the nonprofit\u2019s pilot Welcome Home Program.<\/p>\n
The program is designed to provide attainable, affordable and accessible housing to vulnerable populations, such as military veterans and families facing severe medical or financial challenges.<\/p>\n
The City of Wilkes-Barre donated a vacant lot at 43 Monroe St. to the program in 2023 after demolishing a dilapidated structure there, and UNA has been raising funds for the construction of a new home ever since.<\/p>\n
UNA officials had initially chosen a family with a quadriplegic child for the pilot program. But, after the family\u2019s circumstances changed, the nonprofit\u2019s leaders decided to shift focus.<\/p>\n
\u201cI immediately went back to my board and I said, let\u2019s take a look at where the veterans are,\u201d UNA founder, president and CEO Maryann Velez said in an interview last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI truly believe in my heart of hearts that when our veterans come back from serving our country, we should do everything we possibly can to ensure they have a safe space to call home and they\u2019re welcomed in their community,\u201d Velez said.<\/p>\n
So, the UNA board put together a Veterans Oversight Committee to help with a search for a candidate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Veterans Oversight Committee had extremely stringent guidelines that they wanted to ensure any veteran coming into the program and being awarded a house was deserving of that,\u201d Maryann Velez, UNA founder, president and CEO, said in an interview last week.<\/p>\n
A rough upbringing<\/p>\n
During an interview at the site of his future home, Tighe described his childhood as \u201ctumultuous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in many different institutions as a child because I didn\u2019t have proper parenting until the age of 12. So, Abraxas, KidsPeace, St. Michael\u2019s, I\u2019ve been in all of them,\u201d Tighe said.<\/p>\n
Things changed when Calvin J. Hooks adopted him at age 13 and they moved to Ohio.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the first time in my life, I felt like I had a family,\u201d Tighe said.<\/p>\n
After graduating from Princeton High School in Cincinnati, Tighe decided to join the United States Marine Corps rather than immediately attend college.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always had a passion for learning. But, I didn\u2019t feel like I had the discipline necessary to see it all the way through, and I knew that about myself. So I said, \u2018Where do I feel I could get the most out of the experience?\u2019\u201d Tighe said.<\/p>\n
Tighe served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and was injured in both theaters. He still has shrapnel in his right shoulder, arm and hand from the more serious injuries he sustained in Afghanistan, he said.<\/p>\n
During one if his recovery periods, a nurse suggested he participate in art therapy to help him regain function in his extremity. He later continued his sketching when he moved back to Scranton.<\/p>\n
Wounded war veteran Jody Tighe, of Scranton, at the site of his future home in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (JASON ARDAN \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
\nFacing discrimination<\/p>\n
For a time after his separation from military service, Tighe said, he worked with the University of Scranton Police Department.<\/p>\n
But, while there, he experienced racial discrimination from a colleague. He said he had recorded an incident, but he didn\u2019t know recording a conversation without both parties consenting is illegal in Pennsylvania and he eventually left the department.<\/p>\n
At another local college, he criticized the institution for not having enough Black professors while delivering a eulogy and was told never to return, he said.<\/p>\n
He said he resented finding a Confederate flag on display at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post he joined, but he has since joined a VFW post in Exeter, where he feels welcome and is grateful for their acceptance.<\/p>\n
While being considered for the Welcome Home program, Tighe said he decided to apply to \u2014 and was accepted at \u2014 Johnson College in Scranton.<\/p>\n
He hopes to use the skills he acquires to help the Welcome Home program grow and assist others like him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI immediately did everything I could to find my niche in terms of education and what would fit the needs of the organization,\u201d Tighe said. \u201cAnd so, I\u2019ve declared a double major in carpentry and cabinet making, as well as architectural design. That way, I could design the building and then build it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Struck by his story<\/p>\n
Velez was impressed with Tighe\u2019s journey and accomplishments, to say the least.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I met Jody, my very first conversation with him, he overwhelmed. me. His story was extraordinary. The challenges that he has overcome, and how he\u2019s able to hold himself to a higher standard in spite of those obstacles and struggles are attributes I think everyone should hold,\u201d Velez said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think what he brings to this program on his own is more than I could have ever asked for. My very first conversation with him, he said, \u2018Regardless if I\u2019m awarded this house, whatever I can do to make sure this program is up and running and moving forward to help other veterans, I\u2019m all in,\u2019\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n
Velez said Tighe has \u201cgone above and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot thank him enough for what he is willing to do on behalf of UNA and on behalf of the affordable housing program,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Velez expects UNA will break ground for the house later this fall.<\/p>\n
How to help<\/p>\n
Businesses, organizations or individuals interested in donating funds or supplies to the Welcome Home program can call 570-362-6796 or email Velez at mvelez98@outlook.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scranton native Jody Tighe has faced a lot of struggles in life, from a childhood spent in foster…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,182,803,28,178,180,179,802,2685],"class_list":["post-280878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-luzerne-county","tag-pennsylvania","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-top-stories-cvc","tag-wilkes-barre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}