South Shore Habitat for Humanity House Coming to Burgess Avenue-Highview Street Neighborhood

Beth Lyons, Executive Director of South Shore Habitat for Humanity (SS Habitat), has worked with her organization for many years now, and has been involved in many of its 62 house builds in its 35 year existence.  Yet, in all her years and builds with SS Habitat, Ms. Lyons says she has never seen such a response as Westwood’s.  She finds herself fielding calls from residents volunteering to help build the house, even before she reaches out to recruit them.

"I am so impressed by the residents of Westwood.  They are so excited we are coming and they want to build. We have never had such a response before."  Ms. Lyons attributes the unexpected welcome to a community meeting she attended one month ago, and to good friends who are sharing news of the project.  Neighbors around the site are also excited, she believes, because it has been empty for so long.

The location for the new SS Habitat house, which will be the organization’s sixty-third build, is a small, empty lot at the corner of the Burgess Avenue and Highview Street intersection.  The lot was purchased by a Westwood resident who then bequeathed it as a private donation to SS Habitat.  It has "challenges," say Ms. Lyons.  While developers might pass on the challenges, SS Habitat is able to make use of the land.

Town governments are often the first to reach out to SS Habitat regarding locating a house in their areas, says Ms. Lyons.  Such was the case with the most recent house building project in Easton.  Because towns in Massachusetts generally strive to have at least ten percent or more of housing be affordable housing, they will often contact SS Habitat to build that housing for them, she says.  SS Habitat is able to build on property that otherwise is not considered buildable.

The plans for the SS Habitat house in Westwood are similar or the same to SS Habitat’s latest build in Easton.  The Westwood house will be built in Cape Cod style, have 1300 square feet, three bedrooms and one and a half baths.  Assuming donations will be made for some services, Ms. Lyons estimates it will cost $250,000 to build.

As for who will live in the house, SS Habitat recently made its application available to interested families on Friday, April 23, 2021.  The successful applicant family will be selected by mid-July. Applications are available at the Walpole Public Library, rather than the Westwood Public Library, due to the latter not being open in the evening, says Ms. Lyons.

Families must have income of no more than 60 percent of the area median income, be first-time home buyers, need assistance in purchasing a home, and must be able to pay the mortgage. “A lot of people think we give homes away.  We don’t.  Family partners will have a mortgage of about $900 per month which will include insurance and taxes," she says.

Because the average rental in Westwood is over $2000 per month, the family living in the SS Habitat Westwood house could be saving over $1,000 per month.  This is savings which could be used to help secure the family’s future, Ms. Lyons notes.

Some applicants to SS Habitat are living in an unsafe environment at the time they apply.  Ms. Lyons remembers the case of a single mother with two sons who all lived in a one bedroom, basement apartment.  The apartment had one working burner on the stove.  It had no working oven.  The windows could not be completely closed, and remained partially open in the winter.

“The wonderful thing about a Habitat home is that it really gives families who otherwise couldn’t afford it, one, the opportunity to live in Westwood, and two, the chance to own a home. It gives them the opportunity to be in a great school system.”  Ms. Lyons notes that a Habitat home reduces overall expense to the family, freeing up resources that can be used for better quality food and health insurance, which leads to better overall health.  It can free up funds so that families can afford to pay for their children’s extracurricular activities and college.

In addition to demonstrating financial need, another requirement to qualify for a SS Habitat home is that each adult applicant must volunteer 250 hours.  This required volunteer time is most often spent working on the house itself, but in cases where a volunteer is physically unable to help build, volunteering in the community, such as at a local food bank, is acceptable.  “We are a volunteer based program and we ask our family partners to honor that by giving back,” says Ms. Lyons.

Ms. Lyons gave the example of the successful applicant for the Easton house that SS Habitat is currently building.  The single father works at the house almost every weekend, she says, putting his heart and labor into the project.  In the meantime, he is being exposed to responsibilities related to the house and learning how to become a homeowner.

SS Habitat is currently waiting for a permit to allow the first work to begin on sewer and water connections at the Westwood build site.  Ms. Lyons expects the permit to issue this month.  After utility connections are put into place, the site will be graded and a foundation will be laid.  At that point, volunteers will be needed to help with construction, which Ms. Lyons anticipates will be in mid-June.  It will take about 9 months to complete the project, and weather may affect the timing.

Other than the requirement that volunteers be at least 16 years old, Ms. Lyons says there is no requirement, skill, or any special tools needed to volunteer.  During the pandemic, volunteers at the construction site will be limited to daily groups of six, with a volunteer site manager as the seventh volunteer.  Also on-site will be a construction crew of two people, for a total of up to 9 people per day on the site.

Volunteer tasks in the past have including working on siding, laying floors, adding interior doors and molding, painting, and landscaping.  SS Habitat’s construction manager will work with volunteers to find what jobs volunteers are most comfortable with.  Ms. Lyons notes that many volunteers walk away with some new skills.  They often return to work with SS Habitat on additional house builds across the region.

Companies and corporations can also join the project, and often will cover the costs of materials and staff.  For the Westwood house project, Ms. Lyons notes SS Habitat would be grateful to accept donations of a roofer’s services, the installation of a small driveway, and siding. Plumbing services are already being donated, but SS Habitat is seeking a boiler, appliances, and shrubs for landscaping.

Residents and others interested in volunteering can email Ms. Lyons at blyons@sshabitat.org. Volunteers should state interest in the Westwood house build and provide name and email address. They will then be able to receive updates on volunteering when the time comes.

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