Military widow, daughter receive new home for the holidays

EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - The Briggs family now has a new home for the holidays. Today’s presentation included yet another special surprise for the family.

Friends and family lined the street of the Briggs’ new neighborhood welcoming them to their new home.

“This is such a wave of emotions, it hasn’t really settled in that this is real. It’s so immense that this is actually happening,” said Miranda Briggs.

Miranda and Essex were shown just the foundation of the home in October. Today, they opened their new front door to find it fully furnished as well.

“This is just so far above and beyond. It’s a parity to this community, though. Everyone helps one another and goes above and beyond.”

Briggs’ husband, Garrett, served as a U.S. Army Ranger. He succumbed to his PTSD-related depression in 2018.

His pictures now lining the walls of their new home.

“Garrett and I had really dreamed, like every new parent, of giving your kid the world and what you didn’t have. Being homeowners was part of our dream.”

It’s all made possible by a partnership between Lennar, a home construction company, and Operation Finally Home, a national non-profit that provides mortgage-free homes to veterans, first responders and their families.

“Particularly this time of year with what Miranda and Essex have gone through over the past several years, being able to see that now Christmas has a different meaning for them than what it was in the past, we couldn’t have picked a better time to do this for a more deserving family,” said Rusty Carroll with Operation Finally Home.

Miranda has worked hard to give back to the community by starting her own non-profit, Fight The War Within, to connect people to mental health services. Now the community is giving back to her.

“You see things like this on HGTV and you read stories. But something here in this community happening, then to our family, I wish I had a word for this, I normally have better words for this, but I’m speechless.”

A new home for the holidays… a dream come true for this family.

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