Lee Sutton is breathing easier these days.

The veteran and Purple Heart recipient is a perfect example of how community and government can work together to make a difference in someone’s life.

Sutton, who has lived in Oak Harbor nine years, is settling into a new home, thanks in large part to the combined efforts of the Opportunity Council, Island County Veterans Services and volunteers from the community and from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

Dan Ceaser, with the Opportunity Council, was doing a weatherization inspection on Sutton’s  mobile home last April. He discovered issues with the home that went beyond simple weatherization. Water damage and leakage turned into issues with mold. Sutton was heating his home with a wood stove, but problems with the ventilation meant the stove was actually venting everything inside. Soot was everywhere. It was clearly not a healthy environment.

“The Opportunity Council had this mobile home in Bellingham at a storage facility,” Ceaser said. “I told them ‘I have somebody who really needs that house bad.’”

And so began the effort to clear out Sutton’s old home and get him moved into a new one.

“We volunteered on weekends, during the week. Everybody I called was extremely ready to help,” Ceaser said. “These opportunities don’t come along often and it was something we all jumped on.”

The biggest expense  was moving the new home from Bellingham. Westgate Homes in Oak Harbor cut its price in half and employees donated their time to move the home.

“Island County Veterans Services covered half the cost along with the Opportunity Council as far as transporting the trailer and getting it set up,” said Gerald Pfannenstiel, Island County Veterans Services Coordinator. “This was a collaborative effort. Agencies came together and helped this very deserving individual out.”

Since then, other volunteers have also stepped up to the plate to get Sutton settled, said Sutton’s caseworker from the Opportunity Council, Monica Lopez.

“I love to do volunteer and outreach work,” said Lopez, who is also the Navy family ombudsman for her husband’s unit. “Of course team Whidbey pulled people together to help.”

Lopez said many of the Navy volunteers have forged a special relationship with Sutton, because they can relate to him.

Sutton’s old mobile home was moved off its foundation and was still sitting there after his new home was brought in. The process took a little longer than normal because workers found problems with the sewer line that had to be fixed by the property manager before the new home could be put in place and connected.

The new home was manufactured in 2002, so it is much newer than Sutton’s previous mobile home. It’s about seven or eight feet shorter than the old home, but it is much better built.

“It’s got the full energy package,” Ceaser said. “He should notice a huge difference.”

Sutton, who said he enjoys encouraging children from the neighborhood to pursue their studies and stay in school, is delighted with his new home.

“I want to thank everybody. I really appreciate everything they did,” he said. “I can’t explain it more than that. It’s amazing. Really fine.”