WEST PULLMAN — Habitat for Humanity is bringing new homes to a West Pullman block, and one soon-to-be homeowner is already calling her neighbors “family.”
Crysteal Marshbanks, 41, hopes to move her two daughters, ages 14 and 7, and her mother into their new home before Thanksgiving. Marshbanks currently rents out a two-bedroom apartment in South Shore, but she’s ready for the big move. This will be her first home.
“My 14-year-old, she gets straight A’s, she just graduated from grammar school last week, she has never had her own bedroom — ever — so this is exciting for her because she’ll have her own room,” Marshbanks said.
A single block on Union Avenue, between 119th and 120th streets, will soon have 16 homes.
Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity, an organization that uses volunteers and the selected families to build new homes, is coordinating a regional building effort called “Building On!” which ends Nov. 7. Last week, Chicago Bears rookie Hroniss Grasu volunteered.
Volunteers are helping "partner families" build homes. The goal is to have as many families as possible moved in before Thanksgiving, said Jennifer Parks, executive director of the Windy City Habitat for Humanity.
"Habitat’s mission is to create a world in which everyone has a place to live, so that’s globally, so here in Chicago we are squarely focused on making sure our families have a great place to live in a great neighborhood," she said.
The families are not only working on their homes, but they are helping their future neighbors build theirs. This project features one- and two-story homes with three, four and five bedrooms. The families are hands-on from the start. They are also able to pick out the cabinet finishes, the color of their fridge, and choose the tile for the floors and bathrooms.
On average, Habitat for Humanity requires each family to fulfill between 250-350 service hours. They also have to attend workshops and classes to prepare them for owning a home. Marshbanks said this has brought everyone closer, so that by the time they all move into their new homes, they will already have a tight-knit community.
“We all help each other and we’re getting to know each other because we sit in class and talk about financial planning and neighborhood building and stuff like that, so we’re family actually,” she said. “We want our block to be beautiful. We have brand-new homes we worked really hard to get, so why not take care of your neighbor and help the next neighbor?”
Natasha Nicholes, 34, said that working together now is creating sort of a “built-in camaraderie” that will grow stronger when all the homes are built.
Nicholes, her husband and their four children have already moved in. They moved from East Garfield in December. With not the best credit score it was difficult finding a home in their price range, Nicholes said. A friend referred them to Habitat for Humanity.
“Everything we were looking at was entirely too expensive or the interest rates were too high, or it wasn’t enough for us — we have four children,” she said.
She said that all the time spent with the partner families has brought them closer and will directly affect their community.
“This block will be strong because there will be 16 people who have worked together and seen the ups and downs of home building,” Nicholes said. “Hopefully, this already instilled friendship and bond will kind of motivate everybody else around us to make the community stronger by growing together.”
The families pay their mortgage to Habitat for Humanity and there is a zero percent interest rate.
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