Featured Story

Anna Stanger heard about the Habitat home opportunity online through Facebook but she had struggled with paying her student loans.

Anna said the local Habitat staff has already been helping her with the process to manage her finances.

“What really stuck with me was that this is a hand up and not a hand out type of a program,” Anna said. “I think this will help us get just a little bit more to get where we need to be.”

Gary Clark said he’s been just going with the flow through this whole process. “I couldn’t believe it – is this really happening?” he said. When he found out about the requirement for sweat equity to help meet the requirements for the house, he said since it’s their house he wants to put in as much time as he can.

Anna said she was skeptical at first when she applied, but said she’s always up for taking chances. She said she’s seen the photos of all previous homeowners and is excited to join them.

“The market is just crazy, we were in a position where the landlord was wanting to sell our rental property, but then he backed out on doing that. He also had another house with just 2 bedrooms that he offered to sell to us. But we need more space,” Anna said.

Gary said he’s been just going with the flow through this whole process. “I couldn’t believe it – is this really happening?” he said. When he found out about the requirement for sweat equity to help meet the requirements for the house, he said since it’s their house he wants to put in as much time as he can.

Anna said she’s really looking forward to the reality of owning their own home. “We grew up in a really small town, and we are just looking forward to having a place that is home.”

As far as the experience working with the local Habitat for Humanity office, she said the process has gone pretty smoothly.

“The people have been helpful, Deb (Snyder) and Kasondra (Burns) are really good at letting me respond when I need to. They are not super pushy but very flexible with this process,” Anna concluded.

Beni is a disabled, single mother of 3 children, 2 boys and 1 girl, and a domestic violence survivor.

We have now finished and dedicated our 35th home on June 7. The new homeowner, Beni Welin, is a disabled single mother of 3 children who has overcome many obstacles while living outside of town. She now has better access to her Lewiston support system and can reduce her household food insecurity due to a strained budget from the long-distance commute.

Featured Story

Featured Story

My name is Brittni Curl. I, along with my son, Brantlee, became the 34th homeowner for L-C Valley Habitat for Humanity. It was not an easy journey, but I am happy to share my story and spread hope.

I am partnered with a lovely woman named Stephanie, from a group called Parents as Teachers. After several home visits and knowing the challenges I was facing with my apartment, she encouraged me to apply for the Habitat house. Despite initial protests, she finally convinced me to apply in December 2019.

In February 2020 I received a letter stating I was moving to the next stage of the selection process.

Not only was I getting a home, I was getting an interest free mortgage; and, with Habitat, mortgages do not exceed 30% of monthly income. With Habitat there will never be a situation where I am forced choose between paying mortgage, getting medicine, or fixing the car. I could finally attain better financial stability.

In my old apartment, my utility costs on comfort billing was $300 per month. We only had baseboard were dangerous that and expensive to run, along with single pane windows I covered with heavy plastic and blankets to reduce heat loss in the winter. Because Habitat for Humanity places such a high priority on building energy-efficient homes, my February Avista bill was only $79.

I was going to college and raising a toddler; I had to work two jobs to afford everything Brantlee and I needed, on top of rent. Being able to put my hard-earned money to a house payment instead, is amazing. The house would be ours. No one could take it away. We could do anything.

My home is in the Hope Subdivision in the Orchards. It is a small community with several Habitat homeowners. The children all get the amazing opportunity of growing up together. Since moving in, I put up a chain link fence to keep Brantlee safe. Shortly after, Brantlee got his own very best friend, Axel, a border collie. The two are inseparable; Axel even tries to sleep with Brantlee every night.

Every homeowner has to do a set amount of sweat equity in the building of their home. They can paint, hang walls, hammer nails, or do many other things. Because my house was already built, I did my sweat equity through general volunteering at the Home and Garden Show and Pumpkin Patch. I also speak at events about my journey with Habitat and I work in the office on weekends gaining skills I can add to my resume.

In December 2021, I graduated from Walla Walla Community College with my Associate of Applied Science in Health Information Technology and also Medical Billing and Coding Assistant Certificate. Being a Habitat homeowner, made getting my degree that much easier. I didn’t have to worry about Brantlee’s safety or keeping warm at night. I could concentrate on graduating and having the best possible future for Brantlee. In fact, since graduation, I was able to quit one of my jobs and got a promotion at work. I have already missed so much of Brantlee’s childhood. I will not miss any more of it, and Habitat helped.

I am excited to pay it forward. A new house is being built in the Hope Subdivision. A new family is getting the opportunity to become homeowners and improve their lives. During the home-building process, volunteers have the opportunity to sign studs with messages of hope, quotes and scriptures. I cannot wait to write the new family a little message in their house or shed like all of the people did in mine.

Meanwhile, I feel my possibilities are now endless. Thank you L-C Valley Habitat for Humanity.

Daisy Albert, selected in 2008 officially became an LCV HFH homeowner in 2009, shares her experience being chosen.

She was a single mom, doing it all on her own with 5 children in a 2 bedroom apartment until Habitat stepped in and gave her a hand up. Daisy counts her blessings every day and will never forget the feeling of having a house to call home.

Click here to listen to a short clip of Daisy telling her story.

Click here to view the Power Point presentation.

Featured Story

Featured Story

Janet Duman talks about the impact the Clarkston Affordable Home Repair program had on her family. In partnership with the City of Clarkston, L-C Valley Habitat saved her home.

Click here to listen to a short clip of Janet telling her story.

Brittni is an industrious, hard-working mother of a delightful 17-month old little boy she describes as “the light of her life.” Brittni is devoted to providing the best possible future for him. However, the outdated baseboard heating in her apartment is expensive to run and poses an elevated risk because they get overly hot to the touch and previously burned burn him. She stated “I have to turn the heaters off at the breaker box and use space heaters in individual rooms, just to keep my son safe.”

As a single mom, Brittni struggles to make ends meet with high rent and utility costs as well the costs of raising a child. She works full-time during the week in a medical office and weekends at a local retailer. Plus, she is attending school full-time online in her “free time.” Her commitment to providing for herself and her son and vision for the future made her an ideal Habitat homeowner. We are proud to share that Brittni and son will be starting the new year in their new, energy-efficient, 2-bedroom home with a zero-percent interest!

Upon seeing the house for the first time, Brittni exclaimed “it’s beautiful!” And she shared that she is excited that her son will finally have his own yard to play in as he grows. Curl family, we hope you share many happy memories together in your new house. Welcome home!