Groups dedicate new home built for Lafayette resident

By Richard Payne
Staff Writer

Ellsworth Street in Lafayette has a new resident. On Sunday, Habitat for Humanity, along with Purdue’s Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Association, dedicated the recently completed house of Becky Bee, a Lafayette resident.

In recent years, Doug Taylor, executive director for Habitat for Humanity, had been receiving calls from Greek houses on campus looking to do work on weekends for the organization.

"I decided to challenge them to build a house," said Taylor.

According to Taylor, Bee’s house was the 77th to be built in the last 15 years by Lafayette’s Habitat chapter.

Luke Lightfoot, former director of public relations for the Greek system at Purdue, said that all Greek houses on campus were involved. The Greek houses were involved in both the fund raising for Bee’s house and the actual construction of the house, according to Jeff Getts, present director of public relations.

Groundbreaking for the house took place on March 24, 2000. Although the house is completed, Bee will not be able to move in until she has completed 250 "sweat equity" hours. Taylor says that "Sweat equity" is the hours put in by the future owner by working on their house and others.

Bee had to go through three different steps in the process of receiving a house, said Taylor. She had to be willing to put in her "sweat equity," have a need for housing, and be within the 30 to 50 percent area of median income, or she had to make approximately $18,000 a year

"I was involved in the painting and tarring of the house," said Bee.

Once the hours are completed, Bee would move into the house and pay Habitat back for the house at cost by taking on an interest-free mortgage set up by the organization. The house will be paid off in 20 years.

The money used to pay off the house, along with tax-deductible privately donated funding, would be used to begin a new house for another family. Houses built by Habitat sell for around $48,000.

Habitat for Humanity of Lafayette is a Christian ministry that, since 1984, has worked in partnership with over 80 families to eliminate poverty housing in the city.

Habitat plans to build 12 houses in Tippecanoe County during 2001.

For more information on Habitat, call the Lafayette office at 423-4590.

Groups dedicate new home built for Lafayette resident

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CITY DESK PHONE:
(765) 743-1111 ext. 250

City editor:
Heather Mangold

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Purdue Exponent 2001