Habitat Oakland moves forward on Pontiac, Madison Heights projects

Thursday, September 23, 2010 | Source: Metromode

Families are beginning to move into this year's Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County homes projects, and several more are under construction in Madison Heights and Pontiac.

The three new Madison Heights homes, the first for the city, came about when the city utilized federal Neighborhood Stabilization Funds to raze three houses earlier this year, and donated the land to Habitat for Humanity. Sally LePla, Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County's executive director, says one family has moved into the first home, with walls raised on the second and work to start on the third by the end of this week.

The organization tries to do a one-week blitz, a flurry of building to build the shell of the house, and the inside can then be done more slowly. "We always love to get families in by Christmas," she says. "Habitat's mission is about people, not the buildings."

Six home renovations and five new builds were on the docket for this year for Pontiac. Work is finishing up on three rehabs, with a family already moved into another. The Pontiac projects are in several different neighborhoods; each needed some TLC and upgrades, such as energy-efficient windows and doors, LePla says.

"Habitat is committed to being green, and part of being green is recycling," she says. "Recycling existing homes is a challenge, but is also meets our goal of reusing materials."

The hand-up, not hand-out model -- requiring future homeowners to work on other houses and their own, and paying the mortgage that Habitat owns -- also means that the families are partners with Habitat for 20 or 30 years. LePla says she'd love to work with other cities next year, but they build homes only where they are welcome.

"It's been exciting to see new building going on in the neighborhood," she says. "It creates a spirit of hope in a time when southeast Michigan has been struggling to keep its heads above water."

Call (248) 338-1843 or click here to sign up, donate, or learn about becoming a partner homeowner.

Source: Sally LePla, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County
Writer: Kristin Lukowski