Habitat for Humanity is celebrating a special milestone. The nonprofit recently finished building its 500th home in Tucson. This was achieved with the completion of the Valor Vista development located in midtown near Speedway and Rosemont. Seven families took possession of the three-bedroom, two-bath, two-car garage homes last Friday.
The development was made possible by principal and CEO Chris Kemmerly of Miramonte Homes, who donated the shovel-ready land. The properties were constructed by Habitat for Humanity Tucson staff, volunteers and homeowners.
For Frances Quintero and her three teenage children, it was a day filled with emotion as they were finally able to move in.
“I believe it’s everybody’s dream to own your own home,” she said. “It took a while, but thankfully we found this program that is very helpful.”
Despite it already being 90 degrees by the time key handoffs began, the crowd of 300 in attendance at last Friday’s celebration seemed happy enough. People in the crowd were asked to share what hopes they had for the new homeowners.
“Air conditioning,” someone in the crowd shouted.
“Peace,” another said.
“Movie nights,” another added.
The day was a long time coming and an often hard road to follow. For one, the recipients had to take on what Habitat staff call a second job. They must put in at least 300 hours of work on the house. Anyone over the age of 18 may contribute to those hours so Quintero’s son Lennox helped her, although he was sick part of the time. He said he helped put up the walls and studs, caulking, insulation and hammering. The first walls went up on Dec. 16 of last year.
It’s not just their own house the new owners worked on. Those who were getting a home in Valor Vista also worked on everyone else’s houses. Interestingly, all seven of the homes are nearly identical but for the porches and colors, which each family got to pick.
The project was a great way for the families and volunteers to bond.
“You worked beside all these people for weeks and months because you start your hours at the end of July, beginning of August, and we have until Feb. 1 to complete our hours,” Quintero said. During that time “we became friends and now we are neighbors.”
To help the homeowners along the way, they were each assigned a family partner volunteer; for Quintero it was Lynette Lutz. Her job, she said, was to help keep the family on track. They are cheerleaders for sure, Lutz said, but they are more than that, too.
“One thing we needed to do was review the finances each month to make sure that they remained in qualification and maintained their eligibility,” she said. “The whole premise is to improve good financial health.”
Lutz added that the mortgage costs these homeowners 30% of their income, but the homeowners work hard for that.
When the ceremony was finally over, it was time for the Quintero family to step over the threshold of their brand-new place. The sons, who will share a room, and Leilany, who will have her own room, began a close inspection of their spaces even though they were empty spaces.
“I feel like they’re very excited,” Quintero said. “They are just ready to move into their own place.”
Both Frances Quintero and her mother, Norma, know this opportunity for a new life would not be possible if it were not for Habitat for Humanity Tucson.
“I just feel so grateful, and I want to thank all the people who helped her and all the volunteers who made it possible for her to have her own house,” Norma Quintero said.
“If you are wanting to own your own home, definitely reach out to (Habitat), or if you want to give back to our community we have volunteers that come in and just work on (the houses),” Quintero said. “That is something I’m just beyond grateful for those people who came out here on their own, just volunteering.”
