Single Mom Excited At Prospect Of Habitat For Humanity Home
Charlotte Woodward is happy.
Soon, the single mom won’t have to worry about rain pouring through the roof of her trailer home. She won’t have to pay another $1,000 water bill because of a broken toilet.
That’s because she’ll soon have a new home, the first Habitat for Humanity Spokane project ever built in the Valley. Volunteers are holding a ground-breaking ceremony at 9 a.m. today to celebrate.
“I’m so excited, because I’ve waited so long,” Woodward says.
The Valley has, too. Habitat for Humanity Spokane has built 37 homes in the Spokane area, but until now none were located here.
“We can’t afford land in the Valley. Surprise, surprise,” says Dia Hadley, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Spokane. The high price of lots didn’t matter this time, because the land was donated by a member of Spokane Valley Baptist Church. The donor wishes to remain anonymous.
The Valley Habitat house will be located at 10718 E. Ninth, just east of University Road. The project is sponsored by four Valley churches: Spokane Valley Baptist Church, Millwood Community Presbyterian Church, St. Mary’s Catholic Church and Redeemer Lutheran Church.
Woodward will work alongside the church volunteers. They will lay the foundation and spend the next three to six months working toward the day she and her two school-aged children will move in.
Although she isn’t quite a construction expert, Woodward isn’t totally green when it comes to carpentry. She’s already invested time helping build other Habitat houses.
That’s because everyone preparing to buy a Habitat house has to invest 500 hours of what Hadley calls “sweat equity” first. “They have to be willing to partner,” Hadley says. “That’s a.k.a. hard work.”
Habitat houses aren’t hand-outs. They are sold through interest-free payment plans to families who need a new home. Woodward and her family definitely qualified. She has three sons, ages 7, 17 and 22. The two youngest still live with her.
The plumber was a regular visitor, Woodward said. Rainstorms meant disaster. And many electrical outlets in the trailer didn’t work.
“One thing after another went wrong with it,” Woodward says.
One of the best things about her new home is that she won’t have to move from the Valley. Her kids won’t have to change schools.
“They’re so excited, they can’t wait,” Woodward says. “They can’t wait to start helping build.”
Ed Porter, a member of Spokane Valley Baptist and the steering committee chairman for the Valley Habitat project, says he isn’t sure how many volunteers are signed up.
But it’s more than the project can even handle. “Our church is the smallest involved, and we have 12 people,” he says.
It won’t be a mansion. Hadley describes the $40,000 home as “simple, decent, and affordable.”
There’s no carport, garage or basement.
“It has none of the goodies, but all the basics,” Hadley says.
But it will be all Woodward’s. She’ll have pounded nails in it herself. And she’ll have bought a brand-new home despite her income level.
“I can’t even sleep at night,” Woodward says. “It’s finally here.”
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