Family moves into newest Habitat house
Four-year-old River Suprenant has turned his walk-in closet into a play room; this is new to him because he, his two siblings, Phoenix, 22 months, and Jerzey, 5 months, and his single mother, Jennifer, have just moved into their first house thanks to Habitat for Humanity and Bonterra Builders of Indian Trail.
The 1,304-square-foot house on Icemorlee Street was turned over to the Suprenants Friday morning, turning a building into a home for four.
Jennifer could neither contain her excitement nor her children who were running around the house and backyard, fascinated that they could call it their own home. "I have a whole bunch of different feelings," said Jennifer, "it's so great to have a happy and secure place for my kids."
The Suprenants had been living with various family members while Jennifer worked at a Harris Teeter in Charlotte before they heard about the opportunity of applying to Habitat for a house.
In 2006, Jennifer decided to apply; she met the requirements and began the process of qualifying for a house.
Mike Reece, Habitat Executive Director, remembers when he first met Jennifer. "She not only met the criteria, but truly wanted to better the lives of her children," he said, "that's why she qualified." Habitat's slogan, "not a hand-out, but a hand-up," best describes the attitude Jennifer had when she was given an opportunity to qualify for a house. Habitat mandates every applicant complete 350 hours of "sweat-equity," meaning Jennifer had to work either on her own house, or help Habitat in another way.
Jennifer also had to agree to taking home-ownership classes, a 20 year mortgage and undergo a criminal and credit check to make sure she was serious about bettering her life. "Habitat is for people who deserve help," said Reece, "and Jennifer deserved it."
Thanks to Bonterra Builders, Habitat was able to give the house to the Suprenants for $65,000 said Reece; it was appraised at $120,000 he said.
Darren Sutton, President of Bonterra Builders, was very proud to be able to turn the keys over to the Suprenants. "We want to give back to the com-munity," he said. "It's important to us to do something like this. ...We wanted to donate a whole house, Mike (Reece) said that was great."
During the ceremo-ny, Sutton thanked all the sub-contractors who donated their time and materials. "We couldn¹t have done it without our subs they really helped us out a lot," he said.
Mayor Bobby Kilgore was at the ceremony as well to honor the Suprenants. "It's great when a community can come together and support a family," he said. The city of Monroe helped in the process by connecting water and sewer pipes for free.
If you would like to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity call (704) 296-9414.
