Guest Blog: Chuck’s Comments
Roughly two years ago a good friend of mine, Lee Dukehart, asked me to consider a position on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity San Fernando & Santa Clarita Valley. I met with them and they told me about their vision and their mission as an organization. I was immediately glad that Lee had thought of me when they explained how they build communities for low income veterans.
It is an amazing story and one that I will be featuring in the coming months. After many years as Habitat for Humanity the organization merged with a sister non-profit by the name of Homes 4 Families. The reason for this change in name is due to Homes 4 Families unique focus on building whole communities of veterans and not just a house. Imagine an entire community of people that have shared a common experience as defenders of our country. That being said, these communities are highly diverse in their make-up.
Last year I attended my first “Key ceremony” when the veterans and their families are given the key to their new home. It is truly an emotional experience to see these battle hardened men and women veterans express their gratitude and accept their keys. Each of these new homes are designed and constructed with the very special needs of the veterans in mind. Some are one story and others are two stories but they are all equipped with the veteran in mind. These special considerations include electrical outlets that are 18 inches off the floor to make it easier for someone in a wheel chair to more easily reach them to plug or unplug lights or appliances. There is special lighting to take into consideration those dealing with PTSD. Each veteran and family member is required to contribute 500 hours of sweat equity into their home. This includes taking classes in planning a budget, managing credit, gardening and home repair and many other skills that they will need to augment what they learned in military life.
By the way it is important that I mention that these homes aren’t given to these veterans, they must purchase them. They are given a zero-interest loan for 30 years. They must hold on to the home for at least 5 years and if they sell it the buyer must be a qualified low-income veteran.
We are currently finishing up on 78 homes in Santa Clarita and will be breaking ground on another 56 in Palmdale. As one might expect, there are a great many veterans in the Santa Clarita Valley, Palmdale and Lancaster. Those communities are extremely supportive of our efforts and the veterans.
I urge you to go to the website www.homes4families.org and learn more about this very special organization.