Building better homes

Living in a home of her own was a fantasy for Angel Montgomery.

“I keep waiting for them to say ‘We found something. You’re not getting a house,” Montgomery said. “But they haven’t. This is really happening.”

Montgomery spent most of her adult life renting, but when a friend was accepted into Habitat for Humanity she decided to apply. 

Montgomery, along with all the other partner families living in a Habitat built house, had to spend time helping others before the organization would build them a house of their own.

Habitat partner families have to meet three requirements in order to receive a habitat home: an ability to pay, a need for housing, and a willingness to partner. Habitat requires families to volunteer 250 hours building the homes of others and eventually their own home. When they volunteer their time the families are called “partner families”. 

Megan Neise, director of marketing communications at Habitat for Humanity-Monroe County described a need for housing as anything from not having basic necessities like insulation and plumbing to cramming six people in a one-bedroom apartment, something she said was common in the Monroe county area.

The Saturday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day was another weekend ‘on’ for the partner families and habitat volunteers.  Montgomery and other Habitat partner families spent Saturday touring Habitat homes currently under construction.

“These are hardworking people,” Neise said. “We’re focused on giving them a hand up and not a hand out.” 

Chuy Vidaurri and Lalo Vidaurri worked alongside their father and Habitat volunteers to put insulation in their future home. 

“We’ve got 25 families on an 18-month waiting list” said Neise.  “We’ve definitely seen an increase in need and I think that has to do with the climate we live in economically.”

Neise said that during the school year, IU students frequently volunteer. For many, she said, the experience was eye-opening.

“Everybody is out here doing their best,” said Adrian Starnes, a Construction Site Supervisor with Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County. “It’s amazing what people who come together and don’t know a thing about building a house can do on a Saturday with just a few people leading the way.”

At the end of the day Montgomery stood outside a partner family home and watched as the volunteers worked to finish the home.

“God is good,” Montgomery said. “That’s all I can say.”