HoCo Habitat for Humanity holds home dedication for family of four

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WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — On Sunday, Katrina Gaines and her three children had their new home dedicated to them by Houston County Habitat for Humanity, a home that Gaines herself put hours of work and sweat into. They’ll move in soon, shortly after their paperwork, and the construction, is complete.

According to Development Director Jim Taylor, projects like this are ones done by volunteers, sponsored by local businesses and donating individuals. Gaines and her family are one of five that will be assisted in getting new housing through the non-profit this year.

“Every November we put out an invitation for candidates,” Taylor explained. “I think this year, we had about 100 interested, we had 20 that actually filled out consideration, and we ended up picking five, because that’s about as many homes we can build in a year.”

Gaines, a single mother, has lived and worked in the middle Georgia area for more than a year. She’s spent several weekends working on her new home alongside volunteers, and fulfilling the necessary requirements of this opportunity by taking classes required by Habitat, and putting in her “sweat equity” — her commitment to the process, shown by the hours she put in helping to build her own house. Even during weekends when it would rain and construction wasn’t possibly, Gaines would volunteer her time at the Habitat Restore.

According to Taylor, Gaines’ work has shined during the process — she’s been described as going “above and beyond” in her willingness to volunteer.

“We were blown away by her ability to jump in and help build the place,” Taylor said. “The staff was telling me, it was amazing how much she participated in everything, she was so excited about it.”

The construction process takes several weeks, as Habitat can only work on weekends. Volunteers work to assist their community and the people in.

Habitat has also started bringing on contractors to assist their volunteers in the construction, expediting the process. Local sponsors assist as well, making the construction of these homes, and the low mortgage rates that makes them affordable, possible.

“You’ve got Southern Lighting, for years, providing lighting packages for these houses. You’ve got Bunch of Blinds, she comes in all the time, and as her gift, her donation to Habitat, she puts nice quality blinds in all these houses. Comfort Air a lot of times will provide HVAC units for them,” Taylor said. “If it wasn’t for sponsors like that, we couldn’t build the houses we build.”

Habitat provides housing to a group of selected families each through an affordable mortgage, complete with escrow. Their work assists communities with blight, puts a plot of land back on the tax docket, and provides a family with an affordable home tailored to them, despite the current housing market.

For more information on how to get involved with Houston County Habitat for Humanity, visit www.hocohabitat.org.


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