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Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio Finishes Palo Alto Community
Rebecca Perez of San Antonio still appreciates her Habitat home as much as she did when she moved into it almost five years ago.
“My home is awesome,” said the single mom of one. “It’s my home. I can do anything and everything I want to do. It has been more than I expected.”
The Perez family was the 51st family to build a home in the Palo Alto Community in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio (HFHSA). Today, 282 families now call the community home. The last seven of those families will celebrate the completion of their homes during ceremonies at 10 a.m. Saturday.
“We are thrilled at the completion of this neighborhood,” said Dennis L. Bechhold, HFHSA president and CEO. “But this is just more than a collection of homes. This is a ‘community’ filled with very hardworking, very deserving families who joined together to better their lives and make homes for themselves.”
Also joining with HFHSA to continue its mission has been a multitude of financial supporters and thousands of volunteers who man the construction crews each year and work side by side with Habitat families.
Each family is required to complete at least 300 hours of sweat equity by building on their own homes and the homes of their neighbors, and attending home ownership classes. Perez completed more than 530 hours of sweat equity.
“She was an exemplary Habitat partner…,” Bechhold said of Perez, who lived in subsidized housing prior to moving into her Habitat home. “…and very typical of the families who come to us looking for a way to better themselves and bring their families out of poverty.”
Perez explained that helping to build her own home was very important to her, but more important to her was working with the volunteers.
“I worked at the site every Saturday and I saved as much vacation time as I could so I could go out to the site on Fridays,” Perez said in a speech she gave shortly before moving into her home in 2006. “It was very important to me to be there every Friday to meet people who were giving their time. I don’t know how to put into words how the volunteers make me feel. Sometimes, I thought it was all a dream.”
Habitat families who will participate in Saturday’s dedication ceremony will have the chance to share their experiences with the volunteers and sponsors in attendance. The public is invited to attend.
Full-house sponsors for these seven homes include: Bill Miller Bar-B-Q (In Honor of Louis Vance), The Najim Family Foundation and H-E-B Tournament of Champions. A special “Community Build” house was sponsored by Toyota of Texas, Agudas Achim Men's Club, Concordia Lutheran Church, Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church and Temple Beth-El Brotherhood.
Directions: Take IH-35 South (towards Laredo), exit #149 and take a left at the first traffic light. Turn right on West Villaret Road (5th stoplight), turn left on Palo Alto Road (at dead end), turn right on Aragon Drive; At Maria Isabel, turn right; turn left on Coconino and look for the stage near 3618 Coconino.
About Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio: Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio is an ecumenical, Christian organization working with families in need to build simple, decent and affordable homes without interest or profit. Habitat families are required to put in a minimum of 300 hours of “sweat equity,” meaning they help build their own home, the homes of their neighbors and they attend home ownership education classes. In turn, they purchase their homes on a 0% interest, 20-year mortgage. Their payments average about $400 a month, or about half the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the city. HFHSA plans to build 55 homes in 2011. HFHSA was founded in 1976 as the first U.S. affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. The organization has built 713 homes in its 35-year history.
HFHSA will soon begin construction in its newest community, Coleman Ridge.