œi’1 JJortlanò (©bseruer
March 23. 2005
Page A5
H ousing
Special Edition
EMPOWERED
by Home Construction
Women learn skills, teamwork
and help community
by K atherine K ovacich
T he P ortland O bserver
w id e , th e p ro g ra m e m p o w e rs
w om en to learn construction skills,
B uilding a house isn ’t ju st a lead team s, and w ork to provide
m an’s jo b anym ore. For the w om en m uch-needed affordable housing
involved in W om en Build, trans­ in their com m unities.
form ing w ood and concrete into a
"T here w ere w om en o f all ages,
beautiful hom e isn ’t as difficult as physical abilities, background, you
they were told it w ould be, although nam e it,” said C herry W illiam s, a
it did take a lot o f hard work.
building com m ittee member. "They
W om en Build is a division o f all ju st loved feeling em pow ered
W illam ette W est H abitat for H u­ and to w ork to try a new skill in a
m anity. T he group com pleted their non-threatening, non-intim idating
first house this January. N ation­ setting. They felt a sense o f accom ­
plishm ent. Sev­
eral w ere recent
divorcees or had
b e e n th r o u g h
so m e h o r r e n ­
dous situation in
th eir hom e life
and took on this
project to get out
and m ake a
change in their
life and they ju st
lo v e d it. T h ey
grow .”
T hrough trai­
ning and m ateri­
als provided by
L o w e ’s,
th e
w om en involved
learned about the
in tr ic a c ie s o f
starting from the
fo u n d a tio n up.
L o w e’s sp o n ­
sored 21 W om en
B u ild
hom es
across the nation
Women o f all ages and abilities feel empow­
in 2004, and is
ered during the construction o f a home.
s p o n s o r in g an
All hands are needed when the walls go up on a local Women Build project that adds much-need affordable
housing to the community.
additional 22 hom es in 2005.
“These are skills that w omen have
traditionally been excluded from ,”
W illiam s said. “They w eren ’t in­
vited to these skills grow ing up.
T hey’re taking a step in trying som e­
thing th ey ’ve w anted to try for a
long tim e but never felt that they
had the opportunity. They felt less
than capable because they d id n 't
have the skills.”
In addition to the skills learned,
w om en can feel a sense o f em p o w ­
erm ent through volunteer work.
“T h ey ’re helping people that are
less fortunate than they are,” W il­
liam s said. “T hey feel like th e y ’re
giving som ething back even when
they may not feel they have so m e­
thing to give,”
The house com pleted earlier this
year w ent to the lucky Spy ker fam ­
ily.
St. John said that a fam ily is
selected according to need and
w hether they have a stable income
to support a m ortgage program.
The hom es built in W om en Build
are purchased by the resident with
a no-profit loan and zero interest
rate. A four-bedroom hom e would
cost about $450 a month.
In addition, every fam ily who
gets a hom e has to put in 500 hours
o f “sw eat e q u ity ” by b u ild in g
homes.
“It’s am azing. Think o f if you’ve
been living in poor, rental housing
with poor conditions, then to m ove
into a new ly constructed well built
W om en can also take the know l­
edge they have with this project
and apply it to their ow n lives, be it
aplu m b in g issue to fix in g a w indow
to tiling a floor.
“So m any w om en w ant to give
and help th eir com m unity and they
think that th e y ’re stuck in certain
patterns,” said volunteer M elanie
St. John. “W om en build had over
350 new volunteers to H abitat ju st
for w om en build. W e d o n ’t dis­
crim inate against m en, but it was
w o m en w h o lite ra lly b u ilt the
h o u se .”
W om en Build will begin work on
their 2005 project in M ay o f this
year. A nyone interested in being
involved can call 503-844-7606ore-
mail info@ w w hfh.org.
Dreaming of owning your own home?
Program Brings Homeowner Success
Option easier when
You can buy a h o m e through th e
Portland C om m unity Land T rust
priced out of market
Portland Com m unity Land Trust
provides a unique w ay for hard
w orking fam ilies to purchase a
home.
T he nonprofit, dem ocratically
run com m unity organization buys
and holds land perm anently, so
m arket factors that cause prices to
rise are kept dow n. T he hom es on
P C L T ’s land are then sold to
hom ebuyers with lim ited incom es
at below m arket prices, because the
cost o f the land is not part o f the
equation.
In exchange for buying their
hom es at a price they can afford, a
land trust hom eow ner agrees to
lim it the price at w hich the hom e is
resold. PC L T hom eow ners also
agree to resell their hom es to other
households with lim ited incom es,
thus keeping the house perm a­
nently affordable for future genera­
tions.
Land trust hom eow ners benefit
from stability, security and the o p ­
portunity to build equity, w hile
agreeing to m aintain the hom es af­
fordable price for the next buyer.
Portland C om m unity LandT rust
home," Williams said. “This is some­
tim es the first tim e kids have had
their own room s.”
Because o f proper insulation,
utility costs fam ilies m ay have
struggled with before also go down.
“Q uite a few o f our hom eow ners
have never ow ned a hom e before,
dealing with issues on hom e m ain­
tenance and budgeting,” W illiam s
said. “From being on the jo b site
and having w orked along side o f
the future hom eow ners, typically
these are fam ilies that are very hard
w orking. T h ey ’ve all h adjobs, they
have kids and have been in living
situations that were way below stan­
dard. They take a lot o f pride in their
new home, it’s so m uch better than
the situations they w ere in before.”
Portland Community Land Trust offers:
•
•
•
Quality homes at affordable prices (income qualifications apply)
Shared appreciation that ensures affordability for the next buyer
Support through the home buying process
Want to learn more?
• p
Attend a free
PCLT Hom eow nership O rientation:
W ednesday, March 23rd, 6:30-7:30 pm
A new home becomes the property o f its owner while the land
stays in trust to keep the purchase price low and available for
future working families.
w orks with firs, time hom ebuyers at to 7:30 p.m. at PCLT, 3109B N.E.
or below 80 percent o f the area Broadw ay, and on T uesday, April
median incom e, adjusted for house­ 19 from 6:30 to 7:30 a, the K enton
hold size. F or a fam ily o f four in Fire Station, 8105 N. Brandon. There
Portland that is a m axim um o f will also be an open house on April
$54,300annually.
3 from 1 to 4 p .m . at 68 1 7 N . Seneca
If your fam ily m eets these crite­ for the o rg an izatio n ’s new co n ­
ria then you m ay be able to becom e struction tow n hom es in St. Johns.
a hom eow ner through PCLT. The
A rea residents are invited to
first step is to attend a free o rienta­ com e see w hat PC L T has to offer.
tion. U pcom ing sessions will be For more inform ation, call 503-493-
held on Thursday, April 7 from 6:30 0293.
œ iw m ii
of Owning
Your Own Home?
Thursday, April 7th, 6:30-7:30 pm
Tuesday, April 19th, 6:30-7:30 pm
('all for more information: 503-493-0293 or
visit our website at www.pcltorg
The 4 7 th A n n u a l
IRONY FASHION FAIR P R E S E N T S
y/MoitA Q /s
2004/2005
Sponsored by The Portland Chapter
of The Links, Incorporated
Dreams Come True...
Benefits Links Educational/Scholarship
_ % 30 year fixed ra» ton
Friday, April 15, 8 p.m.
Oregon Convention Center, Portland,
TICKET PRICE: $45.00 General Admission
$75.00 Patron
Local Lenden
Visit
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT:
.
yvww.oregonbond.us
or caM us toM frw
Omon Housing Statnumt, Seems
L8T7.ST8.BOND
I
Geneva s Shear Perfection
One Stop Record Shop
5601 NE M .LK. Jr. Btvd
1615 NE Killingsworth
503 285 1159
503 284 2435
Tondalayera Designers Salon
Reflections Coffeehouse
5401 NE Cully Blvd.
446 NE Killingsworth
503 284 0712
503 288 4070
Equilibrium Salon, 4410 N.E.
503 234-2414
Me Rae s on 42 - , 5852 N.E. 4 2 *
Domonique’s Hair Salon
503 287 5258
222 N. Killingsworth. 503 285 3758
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: 503-638-7139
or from any Links Member
503-245-5156
503-281-3446
Ticket prices Include 1 year subscription to EBONY or 6-month subscription to JET www.ebonyfashtonfalr.cofn