Four more families got to work on their dreams Saturday, hitting the "first nails" of their new homes being built by volunteers with Habitat for Humanity.
Each family must pay back a mortgage on their home, and put in 300 hours of "sweat equity" into Habitat builds, including 100 hours on their own homes.
Seven members of the Franklin family share a two-bedroom apartment in Alpharetta, but in November they should be able to move into their own townhome at Centennial Village in Milton. Anthony, a security officer in metro Atlanta, shares the apartment with his wife, Soila, and five children. The oldest children attend Centennial High, with another brother and sister attending River Eves Elementary. The youngest child is a toddler.
When not grocery shopping, playing card games and bingo or watching television, the family enjoys worshipping together.
Next door to the Farnklins will be the Petit family, another couple who share their home with five children. Husband and father Darren Petit works in a glass company's warehouse, while mother Tykeesha works at Sweet Apple Elementary School. The children range from daycare to high school, attending North Springs High, Dunwoody Springs Elementary and daycare at the North Fulton Child Development Center in Roswell.
The family attends church at Sharon Community Church in Sandy Springs. The Petits say they look forward to moving out of an unsafe neighborhood into their new home.
Kim Gilmore left an abusive situation to raise her four children in safety. Like all the Habitat parents, she said the reason she applied for a Habitat home was to provide a better life for her children. A customer service representative in Alpharetta, she has one son in college, one at Norcross High, one in Summour Middle School and the youngest in school at Stripling Elementary. The new home will cut her commute time from Norcross. Her commitment includes volunteering for 300 hours, including 200 hours working on other Habitat homes.
Mold, rodents and unruly neighbors make the Bouanani family's one-bedroom Sandy Springs apartment unbearable. That makes being approved for a Habitat home all the better for the family of four –Kahlid, Ikram and their 6-year-old and 2-month-old sons. Khalid works at a local Publix Super Market. Their eldest son attends Sandy Springs Elementary School.
Labels: city of milton, Georgia, habitate for humanity, townhomes
# posted by
Brian Vanderhoff @ 8:32 PM
