Final families move into Habitat homes

Maria Cornejo's voice broke and her eyes welled up with tears when she spoke about her new Habitat for Humanity of the Roaring Fork Valley home at a dedication ceremony held on Saturday, Oct. 2 in the Rimrock subdivision in north Rifle.

Cornejo is one of three families to move in to the three two-story townhomes on Coal Mine Avenue. The single mother of two young boys and an employee at Grand River Hospital, hers was the first family to be selected for Habitat's Rimrock project. She had previously been living with her parents in one bedroom that she shared with her two sons.

“I want to thank everyone for making this change in my life and my kids' lives,” an emotional Carnejo told the audience. “Just thank you.”

Cornejo has been in her new home since April and summed up the experience in one word.

“Freedom,” she said with a smile. “I'm very, very happy and excited. Everything is going in the right direction. It makes a big, big difference in our lives.”

A bright future

Two other families who had not yet moved in as of the dedication ceremony, were given the keys to their new homes.

Rifle natives Stephanie and Travis May and their daughter, Elizabeth, were selected for the second home. The couple had been living in residences where they had battled mold and illness. Travis is the parts manager at Columbine Ford in Rifle and Stephanie is currently attending Colorado Mountain College to become a teacher. She also works part time at the Elks Club in Rifle as well as helping to take care of her ill father.

“We'd like to thank everybody for coming out to support us,” Stephanie said, her voice cracking. “This is the best thing that has ever happened to us.”

Violet Marquez, a single mom with two children — Alex, 12, and Jasmine, 8 — was the final family chosen for the third Rimrock Habitat home. Marquez works at the Garfield County motor vehicle registration department in Glenwood Springs and was encouraged by her co-workers to apply to Habitat after they heard about her unfortunate stories of a leaking roof, mold issues and a crack in the bathtub that allowed water to leak out under the trailer where she lived with her kids.

“Without the encouragement of my supervisor, I never would have applied,” Marquez admitted. “I always complained to my boss about my trailer and how the bills were very high. I didn't know what Habitat was. I was living in a mobile home in Dotsero. And I cried when I found out I was chosen. It's a great program. You put a lot into it, but it's all worth it. It's just hard to believe. Never in one million years would I have thought we would have our own home. The kids have never had their own rooms.”

A sucessful program

The three families with their new homes were not the only ones that were thankful.

Habitat for Humanity officials acknowledged that a big part of the success of the program was due to all the people and businesses who had donated both their time and money to make make the dream a reality.

Crews began working on the Habitat for Humanity homes in July 2009. And part of the requirement to qualify for a Habitat home is that the recipient must put at least 250 hours of sweat equity into the construction of the home and be able to repay a no-interest 20-year mortgage.

“We started this project in July 2009 at a cost of $450,000 to $500,.000,” said Scott Gilbert, president of Habitat for Humanity of the Roaring Fork Valley. “They bought the homes for $125,000 each and the rest of the money we received from donations and discounts.”

Jim Calaway of Carbondale has been one of the financial donors to Habitat, providing matching funds. A “Calaway Way” street sign was even named after him in Rimrock. Other major contributors and supporters include Kuersten Construction, Woodpecker Workshop, Bookcliff Survey Services, Inc., Bighorn Toyota, Alpine Bank and Colorado River Engineering.

“We're trying to give back to the community,” said Chet Garling, general sales manager with Bighorn Toyota. “Even though we're located in Glenwood Springs, we donate from Glenwood Springs to Parachute and we try to get our staff involved in all the communities.”

Companies who have supported Habitat beginning with their initial projects in Rifle on 17th Street, which was completed last spring, also helped to make the Rimrock homes energy efficient. EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) donated $46,000 to make the Marquez home the first net-zero home in Garfield County. Wells Fargo Bank donated $15,000 to the May's home with a green building grant.

All three homes received excellent Home Energy Rating Scores (HERS).

“The net-zero score means that the home is 100 percent more efficient than code-compliant homes,” said Dan Becker, an energy rater with FrostBusters & Coolth CO. of Grand Junction. “With net-zero energy, the home produces as much energy as it uses - you have no bill.”

Others gave their time instead of money.

“The Rifle Correctional Center and Workender's Program has also embraced our project, sending work crews out twice a week,” said Kristen Wilmes, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of the Roaring Fork Valley. “Without the outpouring of community support, these projects would not be possible; we are continually delighted by the new partnerships that we have been able to create through our involvement in the Rifle community. It truly takes a community to build a home.”

J.P. Strait, construction manager on the projects, had never worked with volunteers like those from Habitat for Humanity.

“This is a whole new experience for me working with volunteers,” Strait said at the ceremony. “But the most important thing is that we dedicate the homes to these families. These guys put a lot of hours in to get these homes. This was just a great experience for me.”

Since 2000, Habitat for Humanity of the Roaring Fork Valley has built seven homes and plans to complete seven more in the next two and one-half years, including in Silt and Carbondale.