Homelessness ‘taught us humility.’ How this Idaho family was able to buy a house

On a Wednesday morning, April and Christopher Kuper and their three children helped volunteers construct the walls of a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house in Caldwell, nailing plywood to the walls and cutting in holes for the windows. The newly constructed building will be their new home in October.

Just a few years ago, their lives had been filled with hardship. The family received a notice of nonrenewal of their lease, which ultimately led the family to homelessness in 2020, Christopher said — the same year his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“April started looking for places, but during COVID, the housing market surged (and) rents went sky high,” Christopher said.

They continued to struggle, Christopher said. That was until First Story and Hayden Homes worked together to donate a new home to the family.

First Story, a nonprofit organization located in Bend, Oregon, offers to grant homes to eligible families in the Pacific Northwest region. To qualify, families are required to complete homeowner education and be below 80% of the median income of the area where the home will be constructed. According to U.S. census data, the median household income in Caldwell is $59,795.

The nonprofit receives gifts of either material, labor or financial donations, and works with Hayden Homes on deciding whether a grant home is possible, Executive Director Claire Duncan told the Statesman. First Story provides qualified candidates a loan to buy the home with no down payment, no interest and a 30-year mortgage.

NeighborWorks Boise and First Story together select a family to whom to donate a home once it becomes available in the area. The Kuper family was selected and called into the office to discuss a home being built by Hayden Homes. Christopher said they got the call after April finished her 21st round of chemotherapy treatment.

“It was kind of a long shot, a shot in the dark,” Christopher said. “Let’s face it. You know, somebody always gets chosen over you.”

When the couple arrived at the NeighborWorks office, they were surprised by the news that they’ll be receiving a new home.

“It just blew us away. It really did,” Christopher said. “I actually stumbled because I lost my balance a little bit.”

Kuper family’s road to homeownership

Christopher said that in 2020, it was sometimes hard not to give up. As they waited for April’s diagnosis, the family stayed at the Candlewood Suites hotel and sent their children to their grandmother’s house to stay in school.

“A lot of people would have just rolled over and descended into tears,” Christopher said.

The family ran out of money and stayed with friends, then later stayed at Interfaith Sanctuary, a Boise homeless shelter.

“The gratefulness comes out in the fact that her cancer brought us all closer together,” Christopher said. “(It) made us stronger, and being homeless, it taught us humility.”

First Story requires applicants to attend a homeowner education program to qualify for a home. The Kuper family went through NeighborWorks’ Boise division, which offers classes that provide information on homeownership, pre-purchasing, budgeting and foreclosure prevention.

Currently, the Kuper family is renting a property through the CATCH program, a nonprofit in Boise, that provides stable living situations to families through financial assistance and education.

The program aids families in rental assistance through vouchers but also helps with fees like application costs, security deposits and rent. The nonprofit ensures that families in the program have support networks to become financially stable to afford their rental.

Housing prices continue to rise in the Treasure Valley, while wages haven’t kept pace, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. A report by the coalition released this year showed that to be able to afford a two-bedroom rental in Ada and Canyon counties, the household must make at least a $25.19 hourly wage for a 40-hour work week, or $52,395 a year.

The median hourly wage needed to rent a one-bedroom unit in both counties is $17.22 an hour, or $35,818 a year, while renting a two-bedroom would need an hourly wage of $21.53, or $44,782 a year.

While the Kuper family received financial assistance through local housing programs, they still worked and saved when they could.

“We’ve never had the greatest life,” said Christopher, 44. “We’ve always been really good at just barely getting by.”

April is self-employed, while Christopher works for Sevita, an organization that assists individuals with developmental disabilities.

“During COVID I went for nearly a year with no days off,” Christopher said. “The last two years now, I’ve been working 60 hours a week.”

Caldwell home gives family ‘a happy beginning’

Last week, over 50 volunteers came out to help with raising three walls of the Kupers’ future home. First Story has given 109 homes since it was created by Hayden Homes’ founder Hayden Watson in 1998. This was the 11th home it has built for a family in the Treasure Valley, and the fourth one in Caldwell.

“I think it’s a big realization for (the kids), being able to see it and to know that we’re finally going to be going home someday within a matter of months,” April said, as she watched her children — 8-year-old Jesse, 13-year-old Corey and 15-year-old Shawn — helping with some of the construction of the walls.

Understanding that the walls would someday turn into a home and that her cancer is in remission, April said she is excited to close that chapter of their family’s life soon.

“There are no happy endings, there are no good endings, there are no bad endings because all endings are sad,” Christopher said. “This is a good beginning. It is a happy beginning.”