Habitat to dedicate 58th house, first from city grant of ARP funds

The 58th home constructed by Gadsden-Etowah County Habitat for Humanity will be officially dedicated at noon on Saturday, although the participating family has been in it since Jan. 11.

That’s always a special time for the agency with the longtime mission of helping provide decent, affordable housing for those who otherwise might not be able to afford it.

This one’s “a little more special,” however. According to Gadsden-Etowah Habitat Director Sarah Meehan, it’s the first house constructed from a $250,000 grant of American Rescue Plan funds made in November 2021 from the City of Gadsden to the local Habitat chapter. (The stipulation is that they be built in Gadsden.)

Meehan said at least two and, hopefully, three more houses could follow this year from those funds — and the grant ultimately could double in value for Habitat.

The beneficiary of this house, at 1504 Rose St. in East Gadsden, is Ebony Pace and her two children, Patrick and Haley. Meehan called them “one of the best partner families we’ve had.”

Habitat families file a preliminary screen form, then apply for aid. The chapter’s Family Selection Committee considers their level of need, their willingness to become partners in the program and their ability to repay a zero-interest mortgage, generally over 20 years, for what it costs to build the house; no profit is added.

They also must contribute 300 hours of “sweat equity,” as in actually working on the construction of their house and others’.

“She (Pace) worked hard on her house and other houses,” Meehan said. “At times it was a struggle, but she was there every step of the way.”

Pace called the experience “rewarding,” adding, “It was tough, it took a lot of hard work and dedication. There were times where I almost gave up, but I had to stick it out, and it paid off in the end.”

She gained in other ways. “One of the things families have to do is attend a meeting on budgeting,” Meehan said. “Ebony didn’t have a savings account at the time, but does now and has saved a lot of money.”

Pace said she learned how to manage her money better, to the point where she had sufficient funds to buy the adjoining lot to her house.

That house has three bedrooms and cost $74,000 to build, Meehan said, but was appraised at nearly double that value.

“It covers every Habitat standard,” she said, “as in a simple, decent house, but it’s beautiful. The inside looks great. A lot of volunteers pushed to get it finished.”

Pace said, “We’re enjoying it. It’s a really nice, good quality house.”

Meehan noted that along with the grant money, Habitat will receive program income from the mortgages being repaid by the families, making the effective benefit to the chapter $500,000.

“It will let us build four houses,” she said. “We could’ve built them without the grant, but it would’ve been much slower.

“While this funding was approved by the previous administration, I want to express how important it is that we encourage home ownership in Gadsden," said Gadsden Mayor Craig Ford. "Anytime we can see a family take the keys to a new home in Gadsden, we are expanding the housing stock and helping them change the trajectory of their family. It has a generational effect.

"We appreciate Habitat for Humanity for their diligent work to make homeownership possible for so many families in Gadsden,” the mayor said.

Meehan took over as Gadsden-Etowah Habitat’s director last August, succeeding Suzanne Scharfenberg who, along with her husband, Steve, spearheaded the chapter’s efforts for more than a quarter century.

A Gadsden native, she spent 15 years in Louisville, Kentucky, working in finance, accounting and as a comptroller, before she and her husband returned to Alabama.

“Our mortgage broker suggested that I needed to get my loan officer license, and I did,” Meehan said. “I began volunteering with Habitat through the realtor association, and kept volunteering. When Suzanne understood it was going to be her last year, she trained me from December (2021) to August before I took over.”

She said there are some new board members in place and the commitment is to “build houses” this year.

Rickey Rayford is the chapter’s contractor coordinator, and Meehan also cited the help of Heath McDaniel, construction technology instructor at Gadsden State Community College, whose program handles framing houses after block masons lay the foundation.

For more information on Gadsden-Etowah Habitat, visit https://gadsdenhabitat.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Grant provides funding for Habitat for Humanity homes