Ceremony celebrates a new home and the end of a mortgage

While one family turned over shovels of dirt signifying the beginning of their new home, another celebrated the final payment on theirs.

Chris and Laura Frick have been trying to qualify to take part in the housing program offered by the Dubois County Habitat for Humanity for several years. Recently, the couple and their four children experienced the county’s harsh rental market first hand.

With this year’s flooding and heavy rains, their rental home’s sewer began to back up into the basement. According to Chris, when he complained to the landlord about the issue, rather than remedy the situation, the landlord simply asked Chris when he could move his family of six out.

With the scarcity of rentals in Dubois County, it is definitely a landlord’s market. Chris moved to another rental, but having finally qualified for the Habitat program, his family will have a new home of their own to move into early next year.

A special celebration Saturday signified the beginning of the nonprofit’s 14th home but also recognized the Mundy family as they celebrated paying off their Habitat home.

Christie Mundy and her children Josh and Stacey, who were 12 and 11 respectfully at the time, moved into a home on Sixth Street in Ferdinand 17 years ago. Christie and Josh met with Steve Stoffel Saturday to celebrate paying off their home by ceremonially burning the mortgage papers.

Stoffel, the industrial arts teacher at Forest Park at the time, was integral in creating the organization’s chapter in Dubois County in 1998. He and his sons had spent time on Habitat projects in Evansville and Steve felt that Dubois County needed the organization. He and Pastor Joe Kamman of Huntingburg United Methodist and Father Bernie Etienne of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Jasper laid the foundation to create the program.

Steve continues to serve on the board of directors because it has been so rewarding for him over the years. “I always say I get more out of it than I ever put into it,” he explained.

Habitat for Humanity builds homes for qualified families. Those families must provide 100s of hours of sweat-equity — the amount depends on the size of the family; the Fricks are a family of six and have to provide 400 hours of work time towards their home — and will assume the mortgage on the home once it is complete.

The program saves money on the construction cost of the homes by using volunteer laborers during construction. Locally, Kerstiens Homes & Designs assists by providing materials at a reduced cost for the homes; usually at the same price Kerstiens can purchase the materials.

Qualified contractors and skilled tradespeople direct the volunteer labor on the worksite. The family whose home is being built also must seek volunteers for the project.

A common misconception of the program is that the homes are given to the families at no cost after being constructed. However, this is not the case; the families assume a reduced mortgage due to the money-saving factors of lower costs on materials and volunteer labor building the homes. When they are given the keys to their new home, they come with mortgage papers.

“It is a hand-up not a handout,” Stoffel explained. “They have to put in those 200, 300, 400 hours of sweat-equity. And many, like Christie, have come back to help other homes be built because they are so grateful.”

According to Melissa Baxter, the executive director of the local Habitat program, the organization has a goal of building two new homes a year for families, but they are having trouble finding applicants. Information on the application process can be found here: http://www.duboishabitat.org/