THROUGH ITS GLOBAL NETWORK OF CHAPTER organizations, Habitat for Humanity International has built more than 150,000 homes in 3,000 communities worldwide since 1976. For Matthew and Carrie Reid in Boise, Idaho, however, their 1,050-square-foot, three-bedroom home, dedicated in May, is the only one that counts.
Profiled in our special workforce housing report last year (“Making a Better Life,” July 2003), the Reids and their two young children had just been selected as a Habitat family. In the months since, Matthew, a disabled veteran, graduated with a degree in drafting technology and now works full time for a local cabinet company, enabling the family to afford the no-interest mortgage loan terms for the $95,000 home while enjoying what he proudly describes as their “great little house.”
The Reids' home, among four other Habitat homes on a suburban parcel in Boise, also served as a training ground for students in a local high school vocational-tech program, who worked alongside volunteers garnered from three corporate sponsors and the community to complete the home in about seven months. “There's a sense of being at ease in this house,” says Matthew. “It's just what we were looking for.”
Rich Binsacca is a freelance writer based in Boise, Idaho.
Learn more about markets featured in this article: Boise City, ID.
