NAPLES, Fla. - TelAve -- Warrior Homes of Collier will host its 2026 Hope & Honor Gala dinner and auction this fall. Funds raised at the gala will be used to pay down the mortgage on Warrior Homes' seventh veteran residence, Zulu Project, and to support future programs. The annual event will take place on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Naples Yacht Club.

This year's event will feature two military veterans, speakers Jannis Alonso, an Air Force airman, and Alex Kane, a Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade.

Alonso is a single mother currently living with her two daughters in a Warrior Homes' residence. As a single mother, Alonso's top priority is providing a safe and stable home for her girls. Warrior Homes provided her with that and a community that believed in her and treated her with compassion, dignity and respect. Because of Warrior Homes, she was able to move forward instead of simply surviving. Today, she serves as the office administrator for Warrior Homes.

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Kane lives in a Warrior Homes residence. After many stints in and out of rehab for substance use, he came to Warrior Homes in 2022. Today, sober for nearly four years, he lives a life of service again. He recently earned his master's degree at Florida Gulf Coast University, and late last year he became a full-time employee at David Lawrence Center as a mental health clinician.

Alonso and Kane are just two of the amazing men and women who have stories to tell of how their association with Warrior Homes has helped them find a sense of home and community in Collier County.

The evening will honor the late Ron Fournier, a military veteran and longtime resident with Warrior Homes who passed away last year at the age of 92. Not having any next of kin, Warrior Homes assured Fournier was buried with full military honors at Sarasota U.S. Military Cemetery.

This year's Hope & Honor Gala is hosted by Bernadine and Bruce Lakefield and sponsored by Pati and Phil Frey. Other major sponsors are Connie Caruso; Vincent Von Zwehl Memorial; Mondo Uomo; Sunflower Bank; Sara Campbell; Anido and Luzzi Families; Geri and Richard Beggs; Anita and Anthony Petretta; The PulteGroup of SWFL; Schoen Family Foundation; and Stock Development. For available sponsorship opportunities, visit WWCollier.org/Annual-Dinner-and-Auction.

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Warrior Homes of Collier currently operates six Naples residences for local veterans: Alpha House, a short-term, transitional home for those in recovery from substance use issues; Delta House, a supportive housing complex with 10 apartments for up to 20 veterans; as well as Bravo, Charlie, Echo and Foxtrot Houses, which provides long term supportive housing for Veterans.

To learn more about Warrior Homes of Collier and how to support its mission, visit WWCollier.org.