Diane Mace’s home was becoming too small for her growing family. More family members were not coming to live in the house, but the members of her family were growing older. With aging came a new need for space.

     “I had three girls, and it seemed when they got older, rooms got smaller,” says Mace, who grew up in a small apartment in Hamilton, Ohio.
Mace didn’t know what to do about her housing dilemma.

     “One of my daughters was getting treatment at the Crisis Center at the time, and I saw a flyer there about Habitat for Humanity,” she recalls.

     Mace decided to apply to Habitat for assistance in building a house for her family. She contacted the organization and informed them of her situation.

     However, before she could be accepted and approved for a house several things had to take place. First, in order to build a house in Oxford, habitat has to have land available and the means for purchase. In this case, the organization had recently finished a house on U.S. 27 and decided to buy the plot right next door for a potential new building site.

     Also, before Mace could be accepted, a committee had to check and make sure that she qualified for Habitat assistance. “It’s a process that involves usually about year of waiting,” says David Vasbinder, an executive member of the student branch of Habitat at Miami University. “You put your name on a list, and you get notification if the board thinks you deserve a house.”

     Not just everyone can qualify. Before candidates can be accepted they have to show that they have stability, and that they are employed and capable of providing the monetary demands that a Habitat House requires.

     Habitat houses aren’t free. It is a great help for those who wish to become homeowners, but part of the burden and responsibility still rests on new homeowner’s shoulders. “The house ends up being paid for at cost, it’s not just given to them,” says Vasbinder. “They get a 30-year, zero-interest, government-subsidized loan.”

     Mace’s application was accepted after a visit to her home revealed that her family would benefit from the new home, and after she fulfilled all of the other requirements.
The building began in September. It is a completely collaborative effort by the three divisions of Habitat in Oxford: the local, student and Greek branches. The last house built in Oxford only involved the student and Oxford branches. This time however, all three groups financially support the building site.

     Of course, another great benefit of building through Habitat is the volunteer labor that helps with the construction, and Mace verifies that a lot of different students and residents have come out to help at the work site. As long as the weather is good enough for working conditions, members from all three groups come to the house at weekly. If one group happens to be working on a different project in a neighboring community, then another branch will be at the Mace house working.

     Vasbinder remembers his last time working at the house. “I spent the day roofing,” he says. “It can be hard work, but it’s something that I like to do. I think it’s something that most people in the organization like to do. Even if they don’t know about construction, they still like to help out in the community.”

Read a story by Scott about peace advocates in Oxford

Read a story by Scott about one Oxford woman working for peace