Loudon County Habitat for Humanity dedicates 100th home

 

LOUDON CO., Tenn. (WVLT) -- Loudon County Habitat for Humanity hit a milestone Sunday.

The organization has built 100 homes. The latest one is extra special for its new owner.

Jennifer Richardson may be close to a pro when it comes to building.

"I got to put the first nail in the house, I helped raise the walls, cleaned from head to toe, learned how to paint."

She spent the last two years working on the construction of several homes, including her very own.

"If I could be there for an hour or two I was, the Saturdays I was off from work I would come here and work all day," says Richardson.

Two separate divorces hit her hard.

"The main thing is, I lost my daughter in the process, I didn't really have a place to live, I just lived here and there," Richardson says.

Volunteer Ed Lindler and others with Loudon County Habitat for Humanity helped change all of that.

"I heard one time that when you give of yourself to serve, that God fills you back up to overflowing. There's not a better way to describe the feeling you get when you've been involved in this program," Lindler says.

Shauna Oden with Loudon County Habitat for Humanity says, "Families that are selected to be in our program have to meet sweat equity requirements, they have to participate and contribute up to 500 hours so they take classes in home ownership, which includes maintenance of the home, budgeting, credit reporting, insurance, anything that you need to be a homeowner."

The program brought back a sense of stability to Richardson's life and the belief that dreams do come true.

She says, "I'm very thankful for everybody and all the help and support."

The house was funded by Concord United Methodist Church and the Tennessee Housing Development Agency and Housing and Urban Development.