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Colorado Family Realizes Dream To Own Home

BASALT, Colo. (CBS4)- The mountain community in and around Aspen is recognized as one of the most difficult places to afford a home but one Colorado family is getting that chance.

A former police officer who was injured while on duty, Assaf Dory, is now making his family's dreams come true.

"It was a 1970s Airstream and we had friends who lived in Aspen and they said, 'Why don't you come check this place out,'" said Dory.

Airstream
(credit: Dory family)

That's how the Dory family found their way to the Roaring Fork Valley. They decided they never wanted to leave but the past five years have been a struggle.

The Dory family has been constantly moving and rarely can find a home that suits Dory and his physical challenges.

"Regular housing is really hard to live in if you're wheelchair bound," said Dory.

His first amputation was in 2010 and it wouldn't be his last. Since Dory was injured while working as a sheriff's deputy in Florida nearly a decade ago, he's had more surgeries than he can count.

Assaf  and his dad
Assaf and his dad (credit: Dory family)

"For years every surgery, every procedure, you're always looking for the light at the end of the tunnel and all these years there was a train that hit us and something bad would happen. But this time it's the true light at the end of the tunnel," said Dory.

"We say at Habitat we're building homes, we're building hope, we're building community. This is a great example of community coming together. The town has given us a lot for $10 to build a home for a great local family," said Habitat for Humanity spokesman Scott Gilbert.

(credit: Dory family)
(credit: Dory family)

The lot is located just around the corner from downtown Basalt. The city has owned it for 15 years. It was never developed. The Dory's new home will be built on that lot and house three generations under one roof. It's a far cry from the Airstream when they first moved to town.

"I'll be able to walk the little 6-year-old to school that's right over there," said Dory. "It's a hand up. Someone is going to help you, in my case, on my foot."

Habitat for Humanity of the Roaring Fork Valley is making a few adjustments to the home like a soaking tub and a wider staircase to accommodate Dory's challenges.

"We had to go back and modify the design we had. To make the whole floor perfectly level and the whole second floor perfectly level," said Gilbert.

"To be able to set roots here is going to be amazing and we plan to give back," said Dory.

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