Wednesday, August 22, 2001
The single mom and her three kids spent more than 350 hours helping build their house and another in Struthers.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Habitat for Humanity of Mahoning County has dedicated its seventh new house. The three-bedroom, one-bath ranch on Mumford Drive is the home of single mother Kim Harris and her three children.
Harris was given the keys to the home during a brief dedication ceremony Tuesday. She will pay $35,000 for the home, with no down payment or interest, a 15-year mortgage and a $250-per-month payment. Harris and her family spent more than 350 hours helping build the home and another Habitat house in Struthers. Habitat holds the mortgage.
Ground was broken for the home in October. All construction was done by volunteers. Plumbing, heating, electrical and foundation work was done by professionals. The build was co-sponsored by the Boardman Rotary and the Nehemiah Builders, a coalition of Mahoning Valley churches supporting Habitat for Humanity.
Donations: Many items in the home were donated by businesses and contractors, including Whirlpool, Sheeley's, Tabor Garden Center, Promised Land, Coventry Lighting, Mahoning Paint Co., Hunter Douglas and the Larson Manufacturing Co.
Exterior and interior wall panels were built at no cost by inmates at Federal Correctional Institution, Elkton. Storage shed panels and other structural components were built at no cost by inmates of the former Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Hubbard. Workers with the Electrical Workers Local Union 64 Apprentice Program did electrical code work at no cost; Bruno Hoffman of Aberdeen Construction served as pro-bono project supervisor.
The Mahoning County chapter was founded in 1989 and has renovated or built 14 houses since. Eight -- seven new homes and one renovated -- are occupied by owners in Youngstown and Struthers.