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Habitat future homebuyer Adasha Palmer and sons
State legislators, congressional staffers and volunteers from across Texas met at the dome in Austin to pick up hammers and nails to build one Beaumont family its very first home as part of the third annual Habitat for Humanity Texas Day at the Dome Capitol Build.
Feb. 7, all the walls for an entire home were erected within three hours on the South Steps of the Texas State Capitol building. Now, the home walls will be signed, sealed and delivered to the Jefferson County Habitat for Humanity in Beaumont, where construction will be completed by summer’s end.
“Owning our own home will give us the stability and security I’ve been working so long for,” said single mother Adasha Palmer, future homeowner of the Habitat home, who describes her current residence as riddled with holes and infested with mites. “Our roof has a lot of holes, so every time it rains we end up with big puddles of water in the house. And, it rains all the time in Beaumont.
“Every place we have lived has something wrong.”
Like Palmer and her three sons (ages 7, 10 and 15), an estimated 9 million Texans live without access to safe, affordable shelter. The Day at the Dome underscores the work being done by thousands of volunteers every year, as well as the importance of housing policy at the state level.
“Every day, decisions are made in policy that directly affect our communities,” said Habitat for Humanity Texas Chief Executive Officer Amy Ledbetter Parham. “Homeownership is so fundamental that we often overlook its impact in healthy communities. Our annual Capitol Build highlights this impact.”
Entergy, the Texas Realtors Association, the Texas Association of Builders, Simmons Bank, and LP Building Solutions were just a few of the many contributors making the Day at the Dome event possible. Among the dignitaries showing support at the event was Texas House of Representatives Speaker Dade Phelan, of Beaumont, congratulating the efforts of the homeowner-to-be, as well as thanking those who contributed to fulfilling the family’s dream of safe, affordable housing.
“I just pray that a bullet doesn’t come through a window,” Palmer said of living in her current neighborhood. The mother said she also prays for a day where she could feel free to let her children be outside in the evenings. “It really hurts me that I cannot protect them the way that I want to.”
The Palmer family was accepted into the Habitat Homeownership Program a few years ago, and they will be moving into their brand-new home, begun on the South Steps of the Texas State Capitol, by this summer. Habitat homes are not free, however; they are purchased with 0% interest and homebuyers must commit over 200 hours of “sweat equity” to the construction of their home. Palmer reportedly volunteered well in excess of the required 200 hours.
“I was so excited when I heard the news,” Palmer said. “I was determined to do everything I could to make this a reality. Owning our own home will give us the stability and security I’ve been working so long for. I now will have something I can pass down to my sons.”
To keep up with progress on the Palmer story, visit Habitat for Humanity of Jefferson County online at beaumonthabitat.org.
- Jennifer Johnson