Habitat for Humanity of Greater Dayton will unveil its latest new home on Friday, which was built by a women-led team of volunteers.
Dayton resident April Lawson will receive the new home with a 0% interest rate on her mortgage.
During her signing ceremony at the house, Lawson will be able to meet the team that helped build her new home.
“They can come to a judgment free build site where they can gain those experiences, learn from other women.”
The home is a project by Women Build, a Habitat for Humanity initiative that offers a women-led volunteer opportunity.
According to Barga, the idea of Women Build is to promote comfort among female volunteers when working on a build site.
“Most of our volunteers tend to be male on the build sites, so this is an opportunity to have a place where women and other individuals that might not feel comfortable stepping out and using power tools for the first time,” she said. “They can come to a judgment free build site where they can gain those experiences, learn from other women.”
Lawson and her sons were displaced from their East Dayton rental property in January after a nearby fire spread to their home.
“I have been through the worst this year. My house, well the house that was renting, caught on fire in January,” Lawson said “And within that the company put a lot box on my house and everything that me and my kids had, they took everything.”
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Lawson is a longtime volunteer for Habitat for Humanity in Dayton and a member of the Partner Family Program.
She said the program was a fulfilling experience that offered her a new home, and helped others in the community.
“You get to volunteer, meet new people,” she said. “Everything that you do is toward somebody else’s home, somebody else’s dream as well as yours.”
Hundreds of people apply each year and are required to contribute what they call “sweat equity,” said David Mauch, development director for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Dayton.
“Instead of somebody having to, you know, save eight, ten, fifteen, $20,000 for a down payment on the house, they do sweat equity with our organization,” he said. “When she’s there volunteering and she’s not getting paid, but that sweat equity is going towards her opportunity to then purchase her new home.”
The program is an extensive process that not only offers a more affordable home, Mauch said, but education to prepare the resident for home ownership.
“She did a ton of educational classes as well as a part of that to prepare for for homeownership,” he said. “So it’s kind of an all encompassing program that allows people that might be challenged with purchasing a home to be able to to do that.”
She said having this opportunity to give her children a home and stability this holiday season is a blessing.
“So they’re excited,” she said. “They get the pick their room, they get to do whatever they want to their rooms so they’re happy.”