HARFORD COUNTY — A true labor of love. Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna is helping an Aberdeen mom of 3 reach her dreams of becoming a homeowner.
“There are a lot of tears at our dedication. It’s a lot of tears of happiness and joy,” said Community Engagement Manager Michele Louderback.
All of the Habitat for Humanity home-buyers are first-time homeowners.
“Not only that many of them have never owned a house, they grew up with their parents renting so this is almost a new concept for them,” said Louderback.
They’re breaking the pattern and building towards generations of home-ownership.
“Eureka will own her home. Her 3 beautiful children will grow up in a house that they see their mom make a mortgage payment. They will become homebuyers in the future as well,” said Louderback.
Through the 2024 Women Build Campaign, women led teams have raised around $60,000 to go towards building materials, equipment and permit fees.
“We just did that! Look we put a wall up and you can see that you’re a piece of the progress. It’s always amazing to see women step up and learn something new that they didn’t think they could do before they got here,” said Lori Hinman, a volunteer with Trinity Lutheran Church.
However, it’s not just volunteers that chip in on the project, the home-buyer themselves puts in 250 hours.
“They work hard for these homes. Eureka has been here working every day working 7 or 8 hours a day in this heat and she does that working full time,” said Louderback.
Louderback says the biggest myth is that these homes are given to people.
“They are not given. All of our home-buyers will pay a mortgage. It is a zero percent interest mortgage based on their ability to pay but they will be making mortgage payments. They pay closing costs,” said Louderback.
Eureka’s a paraeducator for the Harford County School System, the minute school let out for the summer she was on the site hammering away.
“And in between that she’s a single mom with 3 kids, she’s running them to activities and football practices so our home-buyers work hard for these homes,” said Louderback.
Through the sweat and piles of sawdust are walls full of warm wishes from volunteers.
“She gets a chance to feel what it’s like to own your own piece of property and own your home and say hey that’s mine,” said Lori Hinman, a volunteer with Trinity Lutheran Church.
Click here for information on volunteering and donating.