Habitat for Humanity gives ‘a hand up’ to three families
By Tina Johansson Special to The News-Sun January 23, 2012 7:14PM
LaVelle Slater stands with her son Willie (left) and Sarah in their new home. | Michael Schmidt~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 24, 2012 2:01AM
Three local families celebrated their new and planned homes Saturday at celebrations hosted by Habitat for Humanity Lake County.
Having a home of her own has always been a dream for LaVelle Slater of Zion, a single mother of three — Jo’Nesha, 17, Willie, 13, and Sarah, 7. Her wish was answered at a dedication ceremony where family and friends, including Zion Commissioner Shantal Taylor, gathered to share words of praise and enjoy broasted chicken, veggies and dip, cheese and crackers, and doughnuts in the kitchen of Slater’s new blue and brick home at 2900 Gideon in Zion.
“I just want my kids to know that this is what you can have with hard work,” said Slater, a 14-year employee of the Waukegan Public School District. Although Slater credits Habitat for Humanity for making it all possible, she explained she began working toward the goal of owning a home one year ago.
Slater said she and her eldest daughter assisted volunteer builders with painting, hanging drywall, caulking and insulation on the new house. “I really appreciate it, because now I know what it means to build your own home,” said Slater, a safety officer at the Waukegan school district.
Julie Donovan, Habitat for Humanity Lake County executive director said, “We like to say we give a hand up, not a hand out.” She explained partner families must meet specific criteria, among them having a full-time job and completing 20 classes of intense budgeting and financial literacy. Buyers must also accumulate 500 hours of sweat equity, including working hands-on with their new house, and volunteering at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore on Grand Avenue in Waukegan.
In exchange, buyers purchase the property with no-interest, 30-year mortgages at a cost that’s lower than going through a bank — paying only principal and taxes. Habitat for Humanity makes no profit from the sale of the homes.
Slater said she will move in after new kitchen counters and carpeting are installed this week, and following a city occupancy inspection. “The first thing I am going to do when I enter the place is pray. I am so very thankful,” she said.
A double groundbreaking ceremony was held later in the day in Waukegan — one at 925 Adams for Andrew Gadsden; and the other at 919 Yeoman for Shamika Albea and children Norshawn, Dontrell and Jarrel. Albea works at Goodwill Industries.
For Gadsden, a single father, having a new house built means his children Aalivia, 8, and Aamir, 5, will have a place to always come home to. “I can imagine them coming home to it after school, and coming back home when they’ve been away at college. And I can imagine the notches on the door frame that are made from measuring the growth of a child,” said Gadsden, an employee of Stericycle in Lake Forest.
“I grew up in a (single family) house my parents owned, and they still have,” he said, “and I wanted this for my kids to continue the legacy. Having a house is a place of security.”
He commended the program as one of the best things he’s ever done and which he is still working at completing. “The program really pushes you to strive, and helps teach you how to be a homeowner,” said Gadsden. “Not only do they teach you how to get a home, but how to keep the home. This is a great opportunity.”
Gadsden said he is looking forward to putting in real sweat equity in the house. “My grandfather built his house. It’s one thing to just buy a house, and it’s another thing to say that you actually built it or helped build it.”
Donovan said it’s always special for a partner family to come by their house and see it being completed week after week. “When they see it in progress and work on the house themselves, they get to know the place from the inside out,” she said. “They get to know where their pipes are, where the electrical is — they can be better homeowners.”
Gadsden said he is anticipating the day when he and his children can sit in their yard, enjoy a barbecue and the fruits of a garden they will plant.
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