BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. — After serving eight years in the U.S. Navy, Sean Webb said he wasn't given the best help when he got out in 2013.
He said he reached out in hopes of understanding what he was going through after coming home.
Webb, a single father, was divorced and left homeless.
In hopes of finding a piece of himself again, he picked up hockey, a sport he's loved since he was a kid.
"I started by trying to get help from the VA and then the Warrior program developed, and I was one of the first 10 members of it," Webb said. "As soon as I stepped foot into the locker room and met all the guys, it felt like home. I felt like I belonged there and it kind of gave me a reason to keep going."
When Webb found the Kansas City Warriors Hockey Team, he found a family of veterans.
"And then we found each other... bromance, for sure," said KC Warriors teammate and friend, Case Williams.
The Kansas City Warriors are an ice hockey team consisting of all disabled veterans working to build strength through community.
"They stay on you, they don't let you be alone," Webb added.
It was a unique family that would ultimately bring Webb back from some dark times. At one point, he said he no longer wanted to live.
“A lot of the anxiety and depression and all that started to really surface. Heavily drinking, drinking and contemplating suicide and things like that," Webb said.
It didn't take long for the friendships to go beyond the ice.
"Long story short, he became the best man in my wedding, so it was I think meant to be," Williams said.
It was only fitting Webb's teammates-turned-family were once again by his side as they broke ground on Webb's future home with Truman Heritage Habitat for Humanity.
"For Habitat to be doing this for us, to help us get this home built, it's — I can't thank them enough, to know that once this is built, I don't have to leave," Webb said.
Welcoming Webb and his daughter Veronica to their new Blue Springs neighborhood were friends, family, teammates, a majority of the Blue Springs City Council and the Mayor of Blue Springs, Carson Ross, a Vietnam veteran himself.
"No veteran should be homeless after you've given your service to this nation," Ross said. "I'm happy for Sean — not only that he's able to have to have a home and be able to claim his own domain — that's his sanctuary, where you can feel safe, his refuge."
It's the start of something new that Webb can't put into words just yet.
"I can't. It's just, it's indescribable," he said.
"This is something he's deserved, and I couldn't be more happy for him," Williams said.
—
During the pandemic, 41 Action News wants to spotlight people, organizations and companies helping the community. To share these stories, use #WeSeeYouKSHB on social media.
