By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Habitat for Humanity might have begun in St. Joseph in 1996, but it has been renewing itself ever since.
St. Joseph Habitat Executive Director Tim Osborn says four volunteers brought Habitat to St. Joseph.
“It is kind of crazy to me how far Habitat came from a group of four individuals; it was four individuals that started St. Joseph Habitat for Humanity,” Osborn tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline. “All volunteer driven. I’m not sure when the first executive director actually started, but it was about 10 years into the process.”
Habitat for Humanity has built more than 80 houses in St. Joseph. Those homes don’t just benefit the family moving in, according to Osborn, but the neighborhood as a whole.
“It’s always nice to see the neighbors in the area seem to notice that property values are going to go up,” Osborn says. “You’ll see a new roof going on next door, new siding going on down the street. It doesn’t just help one family. It helps the entire neighborhood.”
Families, along with their friends, provide sweat equity. Habitat for Humanity requires the family chosen to contribute at least 200 hours to the building of a house. The family will have to provide a down payment, but that payment will be much smaller than a normal mortgage would require. The family also must pay on a mortgage, though the loan is provided without interest.
The St. Joseph chapter is expanding into a new project: building multiple homes in an area.
Habitat will build seven houses off Highland Avenue near the intersection with Lovers Lane, an experiment in rebuilding a neighborhood.
Habitat does more than just build new houses for families, according to Osborn, who says the organization gives families a chance at a new life. Osborn recalls visiting a house Habitat built and noticing a little girl had left her shoes outside a bedroom.
“I’m thinking, oh wow, they’re getting ready to move in and I said, ‘You took your shoes off before you went in your room.’ And she goes, ‘Yeah. This is the first bedroom I’ve ever had. This is my room. I want everybody to know this is my room.’”
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.