Habitat works on house
Jeanne Bonner president of the Oak Ridge chapter of Delta Sigma Theta; Charlotte Bowers-Cunningham, Clinch River Habitat executive director; Jim Dodson, mayor pro tem of Oak Ridge; Lecreasia Hall, homeowner; Gerald Boyd, representing Habitat’s board of directors; and Charles Elmore, executive director of Family Promise of Roane County, pose with shovels at the site of a future Habitat for Humanity house.
Clinch River Habitat for Humanity volunteers including Hall will be working on the house, at 173 Outer Drive.
Work started in July and siding is already up.
Charlotte Bowers, executive director for Habitat for Humanity, said Hall had waited for about four years and had let others who applied at the same time go ahead of her.
Another factor leading to delays involved the title on the land. But it’s going forward now.
“Patience and prayer are what landed her,” said Bowers.
“I just wanted something to call my own,” Hall said.
She said her son was looking forward to having his own room and playroom. The structure will be a three-bedroom, two bath house, with about 1,200 square feet.
“Really the only word that I can say is ‘blessed,’” Hall said of the new home, adding she had not believed she was going to get it.
“I didn’t know where it was going to take me,” she said of her application, which she said taught her the value of patience.
“Everything is not going to happen on your time. It happens on God’s time,” she said, adding she found her faith and prayer important.
It wasn’t just waiting, however. To help herself qualify, Hall put in hours work doing service for Habitat for Humanity on top of her full-time job.
This work involved helping set things up at the ReStore, a second-hand store the organization operates at 105 Randolph Road in Oak Ridge.
She also took a class regarding mortgage payments and plans to help build the house itself.
“I’ve never wanted anything to be handed to me; I’ve always worked to get where I am,” she said.
“Reach out but also be willing to put in the work,” she said regarding her own advice to others.
Bowers told The Courier News a bit more about the qualification process.
“We usually qualify people that have a need, like they’re living in a situation that’s not healthy,” she said, giving the example of a mother and two children living in a garage.
However, the recipients must have a qualified amount of income, usually 60% to 80% of median income for the area as per federal Housing and Urban Development guidelines. This requirement is to make sure that they can pay mortgages.
“We’re not setting anyone up for failure,” she said.
Habitat for Humanity sets up mortgages that are affordable for that income range,
Bowers said Clinch River Habitat for Humanity serves Anderson and Roane counties, building homes for qualifying families. The organization is hoping to build five houses before next June 30.
For more information on volunteering go to clinchriverhfh.org or call 865-483-5433.
