- To: Cover To: Executive Director's Message To: Mission Statement To: Special Needs Housing To: Multifamily developments To: Self-Help Housing Page 7 To: Teen Challenge, Homework Club To: Teen Challenge, Homework Club (cont.) To: Financial summary To: Preserving Affordable Housing To: Properties -

- - - - -
 

Learning skills
Julie learns construction skills as she builds her home at Weaver Creek on Bainbridge Island, taking advantage of KCCHA's Self-Help Housing Program.

  

Weaver Creek Group
"These are people with goals. They're getting a home, and they're willing to go through anything to do it." says KCCHA Supervisor Del Sutton (right), who serves as a combination teacher, coach and cheerleader for the Weaver Creek group.

 

  
   

Weaver Creek Group
They began the project as a diverse group with little in common. Now, even before a single home is complete, they're planning community barbecues and holiday parties. "I couldn't have done it without them," owner/builder and single mom Kelly says of the other owner/builders.

 

  
     

Self-Help homes
    are priceless

 Participants in the Self-Help Housing Program build more than homes.
The following excerpts from owner/builder D.J. Sweet's speech at the
completion celebration of Poulsbo's Austerbruin Self-Help Program
development gives more insight into what else the gain.
"Anytime a building is completed someone asks: How much is it worth? The answer for these homes is that they are priceless, because we received more from this program than just an attractive and high-quality affordable home.
     "How much is confidence worth? When we began this program over a year ago, I could not read a tape measure. I had never really handled a saw.
     "I remember the first day I got to do something other than shovel mud. Keith LaFountain, our supervisor, told me to build a pony wall. I must have looked like Charlie Chaplin. Boards flying, cord tangled around my feet, mis-cut studs all around.		 I really thought about quitting. I know that a few of the other group members felt the same way. But we all stuck with it. And after this experience we are willing to try ANYTHING.
     "How much is pride worth?
     "We love these houses. Even the flaws. You can see in my garage where I was using the trowel to smooth the floor. I love those trowel marks because they are mine! How many people can say they laid their garage slab, or roofed their house, or hung their doors, or did their trim? Our group can say they did that. That pride is priceless.
     "How much is a community worth? Our group has seen each other at our worst and		 best. But through all this we are still together. How can you put a price on community?
     "Finally, a dream come true. How much is that worth? The American dream has always been for a person to have a good paying job and own his or her own piece of land. With the changing American economy one good job is not enough to afford a house. Saving for a down payment is overwhelming for many American families, including the families in our group. With a lot of sweat, aching muscles, time and a few tears, the Self-Help Housing Program made our dreams of home-ownership come true.
     "How can you ever measure that in dollars and cents?"

1999 Annual Report:

[ 1 Cover ] [ 2 Message ] [ 3 Mission ] [ 4 Independence ] [ 5 Hope ] [ 6 Opportunities ] [ 7 Opportunities (cont.) ] [ 8 Futures ] [ 9 Futures (cont.) ] [ 10 Fiscal 1999 ] [ 11 New Programs ] [ 12 Properties ] [ Annual Reports Home ]


Site Links:

[ Home ] [ [ Home ] [ Housing ] [ Community Renewal ] [ What's New ] [ Trends ] [ Youth Services ] [ About Us ] [ Site Map ]