GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska (KSNB) – Starting in the new year, the Grand Island Area Habitat for Humanity has some important goals. They anticipate some similar pandemic challenges they saw this year.
Limitations on group size and closure for months caused some setbacks for Habitat for Humanity in 2021. They are now looking for upcoming families to build houses and prepare for 2021.
The Grand Island group was proud to give some families a home of their own to devote a lot of work to.
“We have a lot of people in our area with lower incomes, but who are very responsible for their money because they have had to do it,” said executive director Dana Jelinek. “So we’re looking for those people who want to take the next step toward home ownership.”
In 2021, they will select four families to be next in line for a construction. They have two houses to catch up with that were left behind with this year. Five houses are usually built in a year, but it is normal for it to take about 18 months for a family to come home after being selected. Construction dragged on longer than normal as fewer volunteers were allowed on site.
“By the time we left 2020 we were already behind due to flooding and rain,” Jelinek said. “So this year we were working with the construction people of 2021 who were selected a year earlier.”
Habitat for Humanity is asking for volunteers to be able to work for several days on the constructions. It is best if there is a group within a family that can avoid COVID precautions. They hope that the pandemic will start to turn around and that the summer processes will run smoothly.
“We have some high goals when it comes to constructions and we expect people to step up and want to participate in one way or another,” Jelinek said.
They do not plan to build an average of five houses, but are happy to work to get families into their homes. Those selected must put on 500 hours of sweat, that is, they are part of the construction process. They also have to do 21 weeks of homeowner courses. Families are selected based on income and the ability to keep payments at home.
Volunteer applications and contact information can be found here.
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