Keys to a future

Tim and Christa Seely and their two young children receive the keys to their home from Toni Wiegand of Housing Hope at a ribbon-cutting last week. PHOTO BY JEREMIAH O This Thanksgiving, 10 Stanwood families had something special to be thankful for: keys to their own homes.

The new homeowners received their keys last Monday, in a cold drizzle, but the weather was no match for their spirits. And why should it be? The ribbon cutting ceremony at Copper Station was the culmination of six months hard work in Housing Hope’s sweat equity program, where each family worked to build their own home.

The group, known as Group 26 in the Housing Hope office, was comprised of four couples, six singles, and 17 kids.

They were actually the 25th group of families to finish the building program, said Ed Peterson, executive director of Housing Hope. They finished ahead of schedule, the quickest group in the program’s history.

Housing Hope was founded in 1987, and has since helped 24 other groups build 193 homes.

The organization works in concert with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development to provide lowincome families with subsidized, zero-down loans in exchange for “sweat equity.”

Mario Villanueva, on behalf of USDA, offered “sincere respect.”

“Today is your day,” he told the new homeowners. “You earned this.”

Each build group of six to 10 families works together in their small community. The families are responsible for 30 hours of labor each week on their homes. Half these hours must be worked by the families, while the other half may be worked by volunteers on behalf of the family, said Neale Frothingham, housing director.

A construction supervisor aids each group. It takes an average of eight months to complete their homes. This is down from the 14 months it used to take. Frothingham said better technologies and lumber packages have cut down on the time.

The construction supervisor for this group was Ron Peterson. He thanked Youth Build for volunteering their help, and he also recognized Larry Hansen for his assistance to the group.

In addition to the 10 families receiving keys, a new group of six families broke ground down the street. They will likely finish their homes next fall.

Staff Reporter Jeremiah O’Hagan: 629-8066 ext. 125 or ohagan@scnews. com.