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Our speaker was Don Wilkinson, the Executive Director of Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity. Lakeshore Habitat is the Holland-based chapter of the international organization. Our chapter is in the top 5-8 chapters in the state of Michigan for home production.
In the time that the Lakeshore chapter has been working in our community, they have built homes for 659 people (adults and children). This was made possible by 375,000 hours in volunteer time. The families living in Habitat homes have paid over $300,000 in taxes and more than 20 have completely paid off their mortgages.
According to research, a family living in a home that they own leads to more family stability, neighborhood connectedness, better education for the family, and more community interactions.
Lakeshore Habitat is switching its model from building homes on single lots to working on multi-residence developments. The current housing development is Vista Green off of 40th Street. This is a partnership with Jubilee Ministries. Habitat has the first 5 houses completed or under construction. They will eventually build 18 houses and Jubilee will contribute 23 modular homes to the development. The homes are centered around a common area for community gatherings. The development is expected to be completed in 3 years.
The first family to move in was the Rodriguez Matos family who are refugees from Cuba. Members of our Rotary Club helped with this build.