In the late summer of 1997, Willie Garner was 62 years old and had never owned a home. The prospects of home ownership never seemed less likely than at that moment.
By then, she was a widow. Two of her children had grown up and moved out on their own, leaving her as the sole caregiver for her third child, Valerie, then 32-years-old and mentally disabled since birth. By 1997, Valerie had been confined to a wheelchair full-time and the two lived in a tiny little Southside apartment, which was all they could afford.
“It was pretty cramped,” recalls the perpetually sunny Garner. “We hardly had room to move around, but you make do with what you have. I never even thought about owning a house.”
One day, a friend dropped in to visit, noticed how unsuitable the apartment was, and made a suggestion:
“Have you thought about getting a Habitat for Humanity home?” she asked.
“God’s love in action”
Habitat Humanity was founded in 1976 in Georgia by Millard and Linda Fuller. Its vision statement sees “a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope.”
Since its inception 40 years ago, the non-profit organization claims to have transformed the lives of more than five million people throughout the world, working with families who might otherwise have no hope of home ownership to secure a home of their own. It is not a give-away program. Habitat families are required to contribute 300 hours of “sweat equity” and are responsible for mortgage payments like any other homeowner.
There are local Habitat organizations in all 50 states, including two in the Golden Triangle.
Friday, the Starkville Habitat for Humanity held a ground-breaking ceremony in conjunction with Mississippi State University for its eighth “Maroon Edition” Habitat home. That collaboration began in 2009. Since then, MSU freshmen have helped build a house each year. This year’s Maroon Edition home will be the 66th built by the Starkville Habitat organization since it was founded 30 years ago.
Meanwhile, on Hemlock Street in east Columbus, the Columbus-Lowndes Habitat for Humanity is about halfway through building its 46th home, according to Executive Director Kathy Arinder.
That’s 112 Habitat home built in the Golden Triangle and hundreds of lives touched in a dramatic way.
“If you look at the data, homeowners have a lower rate of divorce, alcohol abuse, domestic abuse, school drop-outs, crime,” said Joel Downey, executive director for Starkville Habitat for Humanity. “Homeowner is the one variable you see in all those areas. It’s more than just having a place to live.”
Willie’s story
When her friend suggested she look into the Habitat for Humanity program, Willie Garner wasn’t interested at first. It simply seemed too good to be true.
“My friend gave me the phone number for Habitat and I said I’d call but I never did,” she said. “So when my friend asked me later if I had called, I told her I hadn’t. So she called for me. I’m sure glad she did.”
The Garners’ home is located on 22nd Street South, a clean, three-bedroom, white house set on an open well-maintained lot.
“My cousin cuts the grass ’cause I’m too old for that,” she said, standing at the doorway and surveying her property. She noted the condition of several rose bushes she has cared for over the years and frowned for the first — and only time — during her interview.
“They don’t look so good,” she observed. “I guess I should have watered them more, but it’s just been so hot.”
The interior of her home is neat and uncluttered, which is important because it allows her to maneuver Valerie easily throughout the house. Family photos fill the walls — children, grandchildren (seven), great-grandchildren (13), even great-great grandchildren, of which there are five.
“Those babies, that’s what it’s all about,” she said.
Clearly, there is a pride of ownership where Garner is concerned.
She is also proud to note that she has never missed a mortgage payment, even when unexpected events emerged, as they naturally do.
“I had to put a roof on a few years ago,” she said. “And I had to get a new air-conditioning unit. But it hasn’t been hard to keep up the payments, even with that.”
Building houses and relationships
Between the two local organizations, of the 112 homes built, there have been just four foreclosures and just one in Starkville. Half of those foreclosures came when a homeowner died and left no will.
The low foreclosure rate, said Arinder, is a testament to the careful screening of would-be homeowners, the commitment they are required to make (in addition to working on the house, they are required to take classes on money management, credit ratings, etc) and the continuing support homeowners receive from Habitat.
“We don’t just hand them the keys and say, ‘see ya,'” Arinder said. “We stay in touch with them. We want to know how they are doing. And if there are problems, like illness or losing a job, we’re there to help them understand what options they might have.”
That’s especially important for many Habitat homeowners who have never owned a home, Downey said.
“During the build process, we are working with the families, their friends,” Downey said. “By the end of the build, we haven’t just built a house, we’ve built a relationship. When they get in trouble, we know about it, either from our contact with the owners or their friends. For a lot of these people, home ownership is new. So we can help them solve problems that they might not know how to handle.”
That relationship is important, if Garner is any judge.
“If I don’t hear from them, they hear from me,” she sad, laughing. “We stay in touch.”
In a couple of years, Garner will have paid off her 20-year mortgage.
“I’ll be so happy,” she says. “After I get the house paid off, I want to add some siding and do some other things around the outside,” she said.
Even at 81, she remains hopeful, her outlook positive.
She reflects on the fateful phone call her friend made on her behalf and on the day she moved in — “Nov. 21, 1998,” she said without a pause.
It is hard for her to imagine what her life would be like to day if that call had never been made.
“I don’t know,” she said. “But I doubt if I would have been this happy.
“I’m happy now. I plan to keep right on being happy, too.”
WANT TO HELP?
■ Anyone who would like to make a donation or volunteer with the local Habitat for Humanity organizations can call 662-329-2501 (Columbus) or 662-324-7008 (Starkville).
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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