Oak Forest resident Shannon Sokoloski said was told her only option for getting her roof repaired was to refinance her home. Instead, on Tuesday morning, workers came out to replace it free of charge.
“Honestly, it felt like God answered me,” Sokoloski said. “He knew I needed a roof and I was not able to financially do it at this time. So I feel it’s a blessing from God.”
The roof replacement was a result of a partnership between Habitat for Humanity and two roofing companies: Style Exteriors by Corley, which supplied the labor, and Owens Corning, which supplied the materials.
“We’re providing the crew and labor, and getting her a new roof and new gutters,” said Danny Hansen, production manager at Style Exteriors.
The work is part of the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project, according to a news release. Sokoloski is one of more than 800 veterans to have their roofs replaced through the project since 2016.
Sokoloski was active duty from 1996 to 1998 and then served with the National Guard and the Army Reserves for six years. She said she was a logistical specialist/supply clerk at Fort Carson in Colorado.
“I’ve been having financial difficulties, and a roof is like thousands of dollars, even with my insurance,” Sokoloski said.
She lives with her two children and three Chihuahuas in the Oak Forest home. One of her children is autistic and requires extra care, she said, which makes it difficult for her to work.
“I was supposed to be super successful, I got my bachelor’s, but then, you know, life happened,” Sokoloski said.
Hansen estimated a full roof replacement would cost between $10,000 and $14,000. Sokoloski said she’d been quoted even higher prices.
“There’s been some major storms this year. Like in Kankakee, there was that bad hailstorm,” Hansen said, referring to the March storm that produced a tornado in addition to large, destructive hail.
Prices for roofing materials have increased over the past few years, Hansen said.
“We keep getting hit with price increases from the supply houses,” Hansen said. “There’s too many roofs that need to get replaced and not enough shingles.”
Sokoloski has been having issues with her roof for a long time, she said, but the problem became acute in March 2025, when it was seriously damaged in a storm, she said.
“I got this home about 16, 17 years ago,” Sokoloski said. “They supposedly put new roofing on the back. And it had came off before, so we had actually fixed it. And then the storm last March, it ripped off again.”
The back section has been covered with a tarp due to leaks, she said.
Sokoloski is frustrated with the lack of support she received from the government when she tried to ask for financial aid, she said. Private programs like the Roof Deployment Project are important, she said, but insufficient to help veterans in need.
“There needs to be more help for us. They’re leaving us on the streets, they’re not helping us,” Sokoloski said. “‘Thank you for your service!’ Don’t thank us if you’re not going to help us.”
Sokoloski knows she’s luckier than many struggling veterans. If Habitat for Humanity and its partners hadn’t come through for her, she would have managed somehow, she said.
“I would have found a way, my parents would’ve lent or something, but how many veterans have no help at all?” Sokoloski said.
Judy Bilitzki, family services manager at DuPage and Chicago South Suburbs Habitat for Humanity, was Sokoloski’s main point of contact when she reached out for help.
“Someone calls like Shannon and I tell them how the program works, we get an open application cycle, she fills it out,” Bilitzki said. “It’s a whole process. She’s been extremely patient.”
It took about six months to get everything in order to fix Sokoloski’s roof, Bilitzki said.
“She was literally like, ‘I have to figure something out if it keeps raining.’ We were getting really bad rain,” Bilitzki said. “I didn’t want her to have to refinance or borrow money.”
The organization is working with several other veterans, Bilitzki said. She said she agreed with Sokoloski that the government needs to provide more support for veterans, an issue that is personal to her.
“I have a brother who’s a veteran, who struggles,” Bilitzki said. “Served 22 years, and now he’s actually employed by the government doing the same job, but I guess it pulls at my heartstrings.”
Bilitzki said she loves that her job allows her to help people like Sokoloski, she said.
“They need it,” Bilitzki said. “I feel like it’s our duty to take care of them.”
elewis@chicagotribune.com
