- Habitat homeowners help participate in the building of their own homes alongside volunteers.
- Habitat giving a chance to local families in the community to be homeowners.
Habitat for Humanity is helping families and individuals in need, throughout the West-side of Kern County. For 20 years, they have been working in Taft, and homeowner John Ryan tells me what a blessing it has been to be one of the first families to receive a house from this organization.
“This is a miracle, we get to wake up and sleep in it every day, talk about changing your life, it didn’t just change our life it’s ongoing till this day, we have a place to come home to, go to sleep in, get sick in, get better in, I like that,” says Ryan.
20 years ago, Ryan and his wife were selected as applicants to have a house built for them through Habitat for Humanity. Just this July, Ryan and his wife paid off their home mortgage. Ryan's home has the first garage built by the company within Kern County, and he's grateful to have that, in addition to the yard.
Aside from being able to pay an affordable mortgage, habitat homeowners help participate in the building of their own homes alongside volunteers.
It was during that construction, that Arthur Sexton was a volunteer to help build Ryan's home for six months. Now, he's the construction supervisor for Habitat for Humanity.
“And that’s the reason why we do it anyway, we want to make a better place for people to live,” says Sexton.
Sexton says it's always important to give back to the community and it's something he'll always enjoy. Habitat gave him the chance to reach out to more local families in the community and help them in all the ways he could.
Ryan says it's amazing what people can get accomplished when working together, and he is looking forward to handing the keys to the new homeowners that will be chosen for Habitat for Humanity's new site in Taft. He says he always reminisces about when he and his family first moved into their home.
“We moved in here the house we did, but the home, we continue to let god build his home in here, and that’s why we’re here and still here,” continues Ryan.
Returning to their roots, this organization is announcing the owners of their newest site next week.
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