Habitat For Humanity Celebrates Pottstown Family As Homeowners

POTTSTOWN, PA — The Parkins family will become owners of their house on Chestnut Street in Pottstown in a celebration Thursday when Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery and Delaware Counties welcome them home.

Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery and Delaware Counties, along with community leaders, supporters, homeowner family, and friends, will celebrate the completion of the Parkins family's new home at 417 Chestnut Street in Pottstown with a special dedication ceremony on Thursday at 4 p.m. An open house begins at 3 p.m.

"Owning an affordable home is life-changing for me and my family," Debra Parkins said. "I am so happy for my granddaughters — they will finally have a solid place that they can call home.”"

The Parkins family, like all Habitat homebuyers, were in need of a better place to live, paying more than 30 percnet of their income on sub-standard housing, Habitat explained in a news statement. They partnered with Habitat to complete the required hours of sweat equity, took financial empowerment classes, and saved money toward closing costs. Moving into a Habitat home means they will achieve the stability and independence they need to focus on forward-thinking choices.

"A Habitat home is a building block for a better future for individuals and families who partner with us," said Rebecca Cain, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery and Delaware Counties.

"On dedication day, we get to celebrate the hard work our partner families have put into the program, while thanking the volunteers and donors who give generously in support of our mission,"Cain added.

The Parkins family's new three-bedroom home was made possible through a first-of-its-kind collaboration between three groups committed to improving the quality of life in Pottstown and the availability of affordable housing in Montgomery County. Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery and Delaware Counties, Genesis Housing Corporation, and Mosaic Community Land Trust joined forces over three years ago to purchase and demolish a blighted home and make way for a new two-story single-family home.

The Parkins family's new home sits adjacent to Mosaic's community garden on Chestnut Street and on a Community Land Trust (CLT). CLTs simply separate the ownership of land and housing; the homebuyer owns the home and the Land Trust owns the land. This innovative approach prevents market factors from causing prices to rise significantly and hence guarantees that housing will remain affordable for future generations, Habitat's statement explained.

Habitat's work is made possible thanks to its donors, supporters, and hundreds of volunteers who work alongside families to build or improve a place to call home.

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