Habitat project breaks ground

by Lisa VanderVelde - Vernon Morning Star posted Sep 4, 2016 at 6:00 AM

“It will be nice to have something to call our own and paint the kids’ rooms whatever colour they want,” said Natalie Scowen, of the first family approved to purchase one of the Habitat For Humanity homes in a new three-plex being constructed. The affordable housing is being built on 35th Avenue between Beairsto Elementary School and Pleasant Valley Road. Excavating will start in the next week and the project, that relies heavily on volunteers and trades donating their equipment and time, will take approximately nine to 10 months to complete. Glory Westwell, chairperson for Habitat For Humanity Okanagan, said the location for this build on lower East Hill is a perfect fit. “It is a great location, close to schools and downtown. It’s a wonderful family neighbourhood, the neighbours have treated us beautifully and have really been supportive of this project,” she said. Scowen and her husband Ivan are looking forward to putting in the required work hours on their new home. “We are both interested in building and my husband is in drywall, so it is a cool way to learn other things,” said Scowen. “Being able to be part of an organization like Habitat For Humanity is really great too and I think over the years we will continue working with them.”