Army veteran Todd Winton has lived alone in his Lutz home since his father passed away last year. He works three jobs to make ends meet and admits he has neglected his yard.
- New county initiative helps disabled vets with code violations
- Operation Code Vet helped Todd Winton with his yard Saturday
- If you would to sign up for the program, click here
"I know it’s a little overdue,” Winton said. “I let it get a little out there too much."
But Saturday, help was on the way thanks to a new Hillsborough County Code Enforcement initiative called Operation Code Vet.
"The problem I see is, how are we going to fix this?” Hillsborough County Code Enforcement Community Outreach Officer Christine Zien-McCoumbs said. “We have elderly veterans that can’t physically do this so it doesn’t make sense to come out and fine them and cite them and walk away."
Instead of citing or fining disabled veterans like Winton, Operation Code Vet brings the help right to their front doors. Code enforcement teams up with local businesses and nonprofits to send volunteers to fix up troubled yards.
Saturday more than 30 volunteers from the Tampa Bay Junior Bass Club helped Winton pull weeds, cut down trees and remove trash from the Vietnam vet’s yard.
"I appreciate what they are doing for the vets,” Winton said. “It’s a great program and I hope there’s more veterans who see this who need help."
Winton’s home is the fourth Operation Code Vet has fixed up since the initiative launched a few months ago.