When Utah County Habitat for Humanity volunteers are finished, a widow and her four children will have a new home.
Ten members of the local chapter, in partnership with Orem's new Target discount store, began building a 1,200-square-foot house in west Provo on Saturday for Judy Isaacson and her family. The house is to be finished in two months.Target is supplying the building materials, and specialized contractors and the local Habitat for Humanity group are supplying the labor.
Isaacson's is the 10th house nationwide that Target has helped build this year.
Habitat for Humanity's Utah County treasurer, Chuck Irwin, said the homes are not handouts but are built "for the working poor." Recipients are required to pay the cost of the house back to the organization at no interest so the agency can reinvest the money in another house.
Recipients also must be living in substandard housing and commit to 350 hours of volunteer time to Habitat for Humanity before they can move into their home - and they must agree to volunteer after their house is built.
Eileen Reilly moved into her Habitat home two years ago, just two blocks away from where the Isaacsons will live.
Before moving to the house, Reilly's family lived in an apartment about the size of her garage. It was "dark and dingy," and she felt hopeless. After trying for 30 years to buy a house, she finally got the chance from Habitat for Humanity.
"It is a lifelong dream come true," said the 50-year-old Reilly, who is separated from her husband. "I can control my own life, and I'm not afraid of the uncertainties in life. I have a future."
Reilly said the organization is building lives by building houses. She pays $300 a month on a 20-year mortgage, $100 less than the rent on the tiny apartment she moved out of.
Habitat for Humanity International has built 40,000 houses worldwide since its inception in 1976.