Habitat for Humanity breaks ground for first time since COVID hit
What's three months when you've waited for three years?
Habitat for Humanity of Richland and Crawford counties held a groundbreaking Friday afternoon for Easter O'Neal and her adult daughter with special needs.
The new home will be at 212 S. Foster St.
Three lots were purchased for the house from the Richland County Land Bank. It will be a one-story brick ranch home with three bedrooms and 1½ baths.
"This is a long time coming," said Christian Harris, board president. "We meant to get this project started in 2020. For obvious reasons, that did not happen."
O'Neal never lost faith.
Always wanted to have her own house
"It means a lot," she said. "This is what I always wanted, is to have my own house. I waited three years, and now it's come."
She and her daughter won't have to wait much longer.
"Our goal is to have it done by the end of June," said Veronna Drane, executive director for Habitat for Humanity. "This is going to be one of our speediest houses."
Habitat's mission is to seek to eliminate substandard, poverty housing from its communities. Through thousands of hours of volunteer labor, management expertise and tax-deductible donations of materials and money, the nonprofit agency builds homes with the help of the future homeowners.
The houses are then sold to the home buyer through a no-interest mortgage held by Habitat. The homeowner begins to build immediate equity, and Habitat receives an income stream that builds more houses.
"I'm ready to work," O'Neal said.
Crowd turns out for event despite weather
About 40 people braved falling temperatures, a strong wind out of the north and mud to attend the groundbreaking for local Habitat house No. 52.
In welcoming the crowd, Harris jokingly apologized for not having the event the day before, when the weather was much nicer.
The COVID-19 pandemic, contractor shortages and supply issues prevented Habitat groundbreakings until Friday.
"We have done some repairs and rehab," Drane said of the interim.
She said O'Neal might have been the only person more excited than she was for Friday to arrive.
"This is back to my roots," Drane said. "This is what it's about — improving these houses, improving these lives and improving these neighborhoods."
The neighborhood needed some good news. In June 2019, a 3-year-old girl died when a fire started in a vacant house at 212 S. Foster St. and spread to an occupied house at 208 S. Foster.
Roscoe Hunter is serving a prison sentence of 23 years to life after being convicted of murder and two counts of aggravated arson.
mcaudill@gannett.com
419-521-7219
Twitter: @MNJCaudill
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Habitat for Humanity breaks ground for home on South Foster Street
