MONROE, La. (KNOE 8 News) - Six Monroe families are celebrating the dream of a lifetime after Habitat for Humanity dedicated their brand new homes to them.
From window to wall the family that's moving into this Habitat for Humanity House, helped build it all. Jane Boley never thought she'd be able to own her own home, let alone build it herself.
But piece by piece Jane and her family, built this canary colored five bedroom home--from the ground up. "It was nice, you get to meet new people and you get to learn and build and you know it's a learning process" said Jane Boley, a new Habitat for Humanity homeowner. She and five other families are able to achieve the American ideal of home ownership, through what habitat for humanity calls "sweat equity". It requires a minimum of 250 hours of construction work per adult in the household.
12 year old Jaquwn Newton helped with his home and says the experience inspires him to volunteer on other houses. "We helped build it from the ground up and I want to help build other habitat houses." said Jaquwn Newton.
The non-profit was able to dedicate 11 houses Thursday, the most at one time in this area's history. Much of the funding came from a federal program aiming to reduce substandard housing. And because local concrete and lumber are used for construction, executive director Larry Head predicts the projects will have an economic impact on the area. "It's probably going to bring 1 million back into our community" said Head and while that's a perk for the community, the end product for Jane is much more than that, it's dream come true. "It's a blessing you know, I'm just very excited."
The non-profit is in need of "more" low income applicants. The group is also looking for volunteers to help build.
Friday, May 17 2013 12:09 PM EDT2013-05-17 16:09:18 GMT
FARMERVILLE, La. (KNOE 8 News) - The family of a Farmerville teen who died at football practice last week says it is overwhelmed by the community's gratitude.
FARMERVILLE, La. (KNOE 8 News) - The family of a Farmerville teen who died at football practice last week says it is overwhelmed by the community's gratitude.
