Construction on new Habitat homes gets underway
By Riley Funk
St. Joseph Habitat for Humanity broke ground Thursday on two homes on East Highland Avenue as part of a seven-house development project.
As construction on the two homes at 1500 East Highland Avenue gets underway, another home in the 600 block of East Highland Avenue is nearing completion.
Shay Homeyer, executive director of Habitat for Humanity, said that each project takes a lot of effort, with the majority of work coming from community volunteers.
In order to receive a Habitat home, individuals have to complete 500 hours of volunteering. This can include work on building their own home, helping other recipients build or other service opportunities with the organization.
Angela Philip will live in one of the homes with her two sons once the work is completed. It’s something she says is a huge blessing.
“It’s been great meeting great people and interacting with different groups of people around St. Joseph. I’m from Africa and being here in America, there’s like a lot of American dreams. And this is part of it,” Philip said.
More importantly, it will be a positive feeling for her as a parent.
“It’s going to be a stability for my family,” Philip said. “My kids are going to have a safe place to call home in this lovely community. We’re going to continue to move forward.”
This isn’t the first time that Habitat for Humanity has helped Philip. When she was younger, her family received of one of the first homes from the Des Moines, Iowa, chapter.
Angela’s sister, Demonica Philip, was also at the ground-breaking.
Demonica Philip said it’s a great feeling that her sister will have a place to call her own. She also is happy that she will be living in a welcoming part of town.
“It’s a beautiful feeling. I can’t wait to see that house built and see my nephews happy in a nice community … and I like the neighbors,” Philip said.
Don Mahaffy and Sara Mahaffy were on site for the ground-breaking and dedication on Thursday. Both helped start the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity in 1996.
Sara Mahaffy said the chapter has gone a long way from when it began in relation to home development.
“When we started off, we had no idea of where it would go or how long,” Mahaffy said. “We are just astounded how things have grown and continued this way. We’re just so grateful for all the families that have received those and worked hard to get the homes.”
Don Mahaffy said moving forward, there always be a need to have help in developing homes for those in need.
“I think we will continue to attract people who will work with the Habitat group to continue building and they need the house. It’s a demand,” Mahaffy said.
