She is now paying almost half of what she was paying in rent and utilities and each of her children has their own room.
Her family was living with a friend in a house with a mold problem when she went looking for help. As a single mom it was difficult to come up with nearly $600 a month in rent and more than $200 in utilities.
Habitat for Humanity helps low-income families buy a home. This is done by using volunteer labor to build the houses so there is only the cost of materials to cover. This lowers the mortgage rates down to a manageable level for struggling families.
It’s not a handout according to Gene Bauer, Fort Hood Area/Belton/Temple Habitat for Humanity executive director.
Families that receive houses have to put in hundreds of hours of “sweat equity” on other Habitat for Humanity projects.
“First they have to work hard on other people’s houses to demonstrate to us that they are willing to work hard and help themselves,” Bauer said. “If they are willing to work hard we will work hard right beside them.”
Ms. Bernard worked 350 hours in “sweat equity” for her home - the largest built by the Central Texas Habitat for Humanity.
“It’s time consuming but it’s worth it,” Ms. Bernard said.
When she was handed the keys to her new home at the dedication ceremony she said, “I was ready to cry.”
Bauer remembers her coming into the office to make her first mortgage payment.
“She came in to make her first payment and I could tell she was tearing up. I asked what’s wrong. She said ‘now I can afford extracurricular activities at school I could never afford before.’”
“I never thought it would be possible,” Ms. Bernard said. “We went to a five bedroom two bath house home, for under $400 a month. There are no words to describe it. It is a true blessing.”
Two of her children have moved out, but she still lives with three girls and her new grandson. When she gives a tour of her house she smiles wide as she opens doors on each room and thanks Habitat for Humanity for doing such a good job.
She said now that she has been helped out like this she is trying to pay it forward. She gives to the United Way through her employer and earmarks her donation for Habitat for Humanity. She says she tells everybody who will listen about the gift she received.
“I don’t have a crystal ball,” Bauer said. “I don’t know what those kids were going to become before we stepped in, but there’s no doubt in my mind, that what they are going to be now is better than what they were going to be. That’s because of the organizations involved with United Way collaborated to change the future of those kids.”
kchandler@temple-telegram.com
