On a sunny summer day on South Morton Street, Habitat for Humanity of Evansville was eager to celebrate a milestone and dispel some myths.
The nonprofit organization has built 416 homes since 1984, and Wednesday’s celebration — which fittingly took place at a home construction site — noted that Habitat homeowners have surpassed $1 million in property taxes paid to the city.
There are some who still view Habitat homes as giveaways, said Habitat of Evansville Executive Director Lori Reed.
“That couldn’t be further from the truth,” she said. “Families work 300 hours (on Habitat home construction) in a 12-month period. That’s like having a part-time job on top of the families they’re raising, and the jobs they go to every day. And they make a 25-year commitment to repay Habitat for what they have through a zero-interest mortgage.
“They are homebuyers like every other homebuyer on the planet, only they’re extra special because they worked extra hard to get here.”
...
