The trailer was falling apart, and the culprit was mold. As a single mom of a child born with medical challenges, Canay knew the critical importance of a clean, healthy household, but the mold kept on coming. Eventually, she couldn’t sleep in her bedroom any more; garbage bags suspended from the ceiling failed to contain the steady drip of water, and in one spot you could see the sky through the ceiling of the trailer.
All of that will change on Saturday, September 17. Between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity is celebrating its 2016 Home Dedication at the Community of Deyoe Vista located at 4405 37th Ave. SE in Lacey. Canay and her son are one of three families moving into new homes that day. The event celebrates the culmination of a year of hard work, from filling out applications, working in Habitat stores, attending events, and spending 250 hours building their own houses as well as their neighbors’. The ceremony is open to the public and will include a walk-through of the new homes.
“This last year these families have worked so hard,” says Shawna Dutton, Marketing and Outreach Supervisor. “This event celebrates the moment they actually receive keys to the houses. We get to hear stories from our families about what their housing need was, plus what our volunteers learned from participating in the building.”
In addition to Canay and her son, the Cruz family – parents Bonnie and Jerome and daughters Haley, Jaden, and Jaeda – will be moving in on Saturday. “They’re amazing,” says Dutton. “Jerome works at a warehouse 70 hours a week, and then every Saturday he’s there for six hours building his house, helping one of the single moms in the cluster replace a faucet, or helping trim the bushes.” Bonnie works at the Dollar Tree part time and is studying to be a pharmacy technician. “She’s working, raising the three girls, and doing a pharmacy technician externship on top of putting in the 250 hours building,” says Dutton.
Carolyn Dubler will be celebrating her move into a retrofitted bungalow-style home built to accommodate her hearing impairment. “It has strobes for when the doorbell rings and a couple of other modifications to make sure this is a good fit for her,” says Dutton.
As for Canay and her son, Dutton believes the transition will be life-changing. “This is going to be a big leap upwards for them,” she says. “All year, Canay has been willing to jump in on the construction site and learn something new. They’re going to be a fantastic family to watch.”
Volunteers will have a chance to speak Saturday, including what Dutton calls ‘our Wednesday guys,’ a group of men most in their 70’s who’ve been building homes together for 15 years. “They put up houses every Wednesday, rain or shine,” she says. “A few of them have been around longer than our Habitat staff.”
Members of the Altrusa Club of Olympia will also be in attendance. This year the club donated a $10,000 playground set for the new neighborhood. “The way it’s structured, all the houses are facing each other in a common area,” says Dutton. “It’s safe so when a parent is making dinner and the kids just need to get out of the house, there’s a play structure right there so everyone can keep an eye on each other’s children.”
Members of the Leadership Thurston County Class of 2016 may also be on hand. As a culminating project, the class put in a community garden for the neighborhood. “Now we have 33 planter boxes that are 4 x 8, filled with dirt, and ready for families to grow their own fruits and vegetables,” says Dutton.
This particular cluster of homes is one of the largest Habitat for Humanity developments in the state, with 33 homes going in off of College Avenue and 37th street. “It’s a cottage-style community, with one entry and one exit out,” she explains. “It’s designed for safety, so you can see who’s coming in and who’s going out.”
In order to be eligible to apply for a Habitat house, the criteria is straightforward. Families need to live or work in Thurston County or Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM), earn between 30% and 60% of the area’s median income, and have a housing need such as living somewhere that is overcrowded, unsafe, or creates an undue cost burden. “The most important thing is you have to be willing to partner with Habitat,” says Dutton. “We don’t ask for a down payment and it’s a 0% interest loan, so they put in “sweat equity” hours alongside our staff and volunteers.”
The building process not only makes people better homeowners, it keeps them involved as part of the organization. “Our homeowners pay their monthly mortgage and the fund that they pay into every month is actually what’s building their neighbors’ homes,” Dutton explains.
Additional funding comes through a combination of state and local grants, community partnerships, and home sponsorships from local businesses, in addition to income generated by Habitat stores. “We use proceeds from the stores to cover all the operational costs of running a construction company, a social service operation, a volunteer hub and a lending institution all under one banner.”” says Dutton. “Whenever you shop at or donate to a Habitat store, you’re helping families build and own their own homes, right here, in Thurston County.”
For more information about South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity, visit www.spshabitat.org or call 360-956-3456.
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