Habitat for Humanity dedicates 41st home
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Commenting that it felt like a family reunion, Duane Hershberger, executive director of the Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity, opened the dedication ceremony for the group's 41st home build.
The three-bedroom house on Diamond Street, which was started and finished during the pandemic, will be the home of Stephanie Matthews and her two children, Tianah Williams and Kyrie Mitcheltree.
Garrett Sanner, chairman of the board at Habitat, addressed issues the group faced during construction.
"A lot goes into building a house for anyone who has ever built a house--it can be stressful, it's a large undertaking--labor costs, there's costs of goods, cost of lumber increasing, design plans, design changes," Sanner said. "All of these can make for some tense conversations and moments."
"Then there's the added degree of difficulty with a non-profit building houses. You then have fundraising, federal, local, state grants. You have volunteers, safety concerns. You throw a global pandemic in front of that, shutdowns of work, safety protocols exploding…so you can get a glimpse into what our year looked like," he added.
Sanner noted that this particular construction project probably rates high among the most difficult Habitat has undertaken due to the pandemic.
Corrine Stammel-Demmien, program director, said the hardest part of working during the pandemic was trying to find volunteers.
"Our volunteers were just very dedicated. They were here every Wednesday and Saturday. They just got it done. We couldn't have done it without them," Stammel-Demmien said.
She admitted there were delays caused by shutdowns, which placed the work behind schedule. An increase in the cost of materials was also a factor for the project.
"Cost of materials increased by about $40,000. We had grant money coming from the city, we fund-raised for it, but it just wasn't going to be enough to cover the cost. Going into these next homes, we're looking at an increase of $40,000 per home because of the cost of materials rising," she stated.
Stammel-Demmien also revealed that Habitat will hopefully, beginning with their next project, be building two homes a year for the next few years, instead of the one per year they have been doing.
Mayor Derek Slaughter commented on the $70,000 that the city contributed in grant money and the benefits Habitat's work brings to neighborhoods in the city.
"Obviously all the work that Habitat does in our community and the homes that they build are definitely an investment in the neighborhood. The sweat equity that not just the new homeowners put into their home, but the Habitat community as a whole, it's absolutely an investment in this neighborhood and in the city," Slaughter said.
Noting that his administration has been focusing on blight remediation and affordable housing, Slaughter said that a home build like the one on Diamond Street is an important part of revitalizing city neighborhoods.
New homeowner Stephanie Matthews was "overjoyed" with being able to own her own home.
"Just a couple of years ago, I would have never thought that this would ever be made possible," Matthews said.
"Habitat and the agencies such as STEP and the Salvation Army moving together to help us is what really made that possible," she added.
Matthews noted that prior to applying and being accepted into the Habitat program she had been living in public housing for about 14 years.
"With finances and being low income and as a single parent, I didn't think that I would ever be able to own a home," she said.
Hoping to move in before school is back in session later this month, Matthews said she is already busy buying things to decorate her home.
"The children have already picked their room colors, their area rugs. We already went to Hobby Lobby and picked some decorations for the walls, so we're planned and ready," she said.
Matthews echoed others' praise for the volunteers who worked through a pandemic toward her dream of owning a home.
"People were still faithful to giving back and volunteering," she stated. "Even in extreme circumstances, people wanted to help and to give back," she added.