Alesha Rolley should be a proud homeowner — just as she turns 30 — come December. In her words, it’s “probably the biggest dream come true.”

Having never owned her own home, Rolley, who lives with her two children, just got the word from the Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity a little over a week before a group from across the country called “The Habitat Road Trip Crazies” spent a weekend getting the home on Scott Street under roof with their Blitz Build.

“The Crazies were wonderful. It was almost like I knew them my whole life. We just got along so well. They gave me a couple of gifts. One of the ladies gave my children a bird house that they made…and then this author was there. He wrote two books. He signed his name and signed both of my children’s names on them, so that was really sweet,” Rolley said.

“Everybody was just amazing. I couldn’t believe how fast they were able to get everything done. And then come to find out, it’s the first time in Lycoming County that they’ve had the Crazies come. It was just a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. It was like I won a trip to Disney World,” she said.

While they were here, Rolley was right there with the Crazies earning sweat equity in her new home.

“I helped put the first wall up. I ended up helping with all of the walls, and then all of the siding as well. I learned how to seal my windows and seal the roof, so they’re teaching me a lot of different things,” she said.

Part of the Habitat for Humanity program is that the prospective homeowner has to put in so many hours of sweat equity, either working directly on the home or in some capacity with the organization in order to qualify for home ownership.

By working at the build, Rolley can accumulate some of those hours. Members of her family also worked and their time goes toward her sweat equity. She shared that she needs 250 hours within a certain amount of time.

“I think it makes it more special. I’ve never actually built a home or was around anybody building a home, so this is definitely special to us. We all got to go sign the interior of the walls before we cover them up, so that’ll be there forever. It was all special. I’m very grateful,” she said.

Rolley decided to apply for the Habitat program after she ended up living in an undesirable location. But, at first, everything did not go smoothly. She had applied for two other houses only to have those fall through.

“I almost called it quits until my mom was like, ‘Just try again.’ I tried for this one and I waited, and they gave me the call back last week,” she said.

Now, with the work that the Crazies completed on the structure, Rolley is working on finishing the inside of the home.

Two of the 46 Habitat Road Trip Crazies who showed up to get the house build off the ground were Ed Benson and Mike Bongiovi, both of Warrington, Virginia.

As other members were lifting the walls of the house in place, Benson and Bongiovi were busy cutting wood.

Benson, who has been working with Habitat for 15 years, said he has been up and down the Eastern Seaboard helping people attain their housing goal. In all, he said, he has helped raise about 10 to 12 houses.

He said that he wants to help because people need a “place to live that they can afford.”

“Unfortunately, and I can’t speak to the demographic in this area, but in my town…school teachers can’t afford to live in the community. They can’t afford to live in the community. They can’t afford to live in the county,” he said.

“We’ve got a homeless population of veterans that have the same kind of issues. Where many veterans are homeless because they choose to be, many are homeless because they can’t afford housing,” he said.

He said that volunteering is his way of giving back.

“I’ve been fortunate through my working career that I’m in a position where I can do it. I am truly blessed to be able to do this,” he added.

The Habitat event was the first-ever “Blitz Build” held by the local group. With the help of volunteers like Benson, the home was built in two days, with the interior to be completed later.

According to Dana Brigandi, director of development for the Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity, the Blitz Build supports the group’s five-year strategic plan to construct 11 homes in Williamsport and South Williamsport by the end of 2027. Rolley’s home is the sixth completed in that plan.