Two families benefit from Habitat for Humanity homes

Saint John Telegraph-Journal Thursday, October 16, 2003
By MIKE MULLEN

Sometimes, dreaming really does pay off.

Just ask the Northrup and Turner families of Saint John, who were officially handed the keys to their new duplex units from Habitat for Humanity Saint John Region Inc. during a ceremony forced inside by driving rain.

“Dreams really do come true, it’s really true,” an excited Bonnie Northrup said as she anticipated next week’s move to the three-storey Brunswick Drive home she’ll share with hubby Ray, their three daughters and two dogs.

It’s been crowded, she said, living in a 12 by 56-foot trailer up to now.

Tammy Turner, a single mother of four, remains equally excited about her Aug. 26 move into the neighbouring half of the duplex, the first two-family project for Habitat in Saint John.

“It’s awesome,” she said of her new digs. “The best thing for me was when my 16-year-old, Benjamin, was walking though and he goes, ‘Oh, it’s so neat to live in a house you actually build,’ It is pretty neat you know.”

To be eligible for habitat housing, the two families had to agree to contribute 50o hours of sweat equity and make payments on an interest-free mortgage. The $60,000 duplex represents the sixth and seventh houses created by the ecumenical Christian housing initiative born here in 1998.

Mr. Northrup said he and his wife, with the help of family friends, did much of the interior work on their duplex. Nearly two dozen soldiers from the 4th Engineer Support Regiment quickly raised the building after moving onto the rocky site in early June.

Ms. Turner says the fact the Saint John Boys and Girls Club is located just across the street is a bonus for her children. Prince Charles School is only a short walk away, as is her job at the Cendant call centre.

Previously, she said, she and her children – Benjamin, 16, Willy, 14, Teena, 12, and Jacob, 9 – had lived in 14 different places over nine years.

“There was no place they could have a dog and no place where they could feel secure because a lot of times when a single parent goes and finds a home, it’s very low-quality,” she said. “So, the kids got used to putting cups under drips in the bedroom.”

The Turner children and the Northrup girls, Tiffany, 11, Brittany, 9, and Naiomi, 6, played happily together in the still-unfurnished Northrup duplex as dignitaries, Habitat officials and sponsors gathered to mark the completion of Habitat’s latest build.

There were gifts for both families and plenty of encouragement and prayer.

“Fire represents life,” Jeannine Richard, Habitat’s chair of family support, said in leading them in a candle lighting ceremony representing their hope for a better future for their children.

“This is a new beginning,” she added. “Lighting a candle makes you a light for our community and a champion for Habitat for Humanity throughout the world.”

And in handing over the keys. Habitat president Debbie Rice told them: “Remember, these keys not only unlock your new houses, they unlock your new lives, Habitat not only builds homes, it builds lives.”