By Chad Koenen

Publisher

There’s far more to building a Habitat for Humanity home than simply hammering nails, raising walls and putting down new flooring. Those are, of course, important skills for building crews and volunteers to possess, but Habitat for Humanity homes are more than just walls and a yard, they are about a community and volunteers rallying together to bring a new home to a family in need. 

Each Habitat for Humanity home is built with a myriad of volunteers giving up their free time to help construct a home with love and passion for whom they may have never met. The homes are about providing a family an opportunity to move into a forever home that they may not otherwise be able to afford.

Over the past year, work has taken place on the first of two Habitat for Humanity homes in the Ottertail community. The work to get the home into Ottertail has been a process that has taken quite some time, but could be the beginning of a unique partnership with the Fergus Falls Habitat for Humanity and the City of Ottertail. With lots selling for just $1 apiece, and a willingness to work with the organization to place newly constructed Habitat for Humanity homes in town, plans are already underway for a second Habitat for Humanity house in Ottertail that will be constructed by students in the Battle Lake School District. 

“Ottertail city had the development in Happy Acres II. We just felt that was a very central place because families can work in Perham, New York Mills, Battle Lake and Fergus Falls,” said Stan Carignan of the Fergus Falls Habitat for Humanity. 

Ottertail Mayor Ron Grobeck said adding Habitat for Humanity houses in the community has been a win-win for everyone involved as it not only provides an affordable housing option for a new family, but also provides students in local school districts the opportunity to learn a trade by constructing a new home. 

“These habitat houses they are bringing are just a perfect marriage because we are helping the high school kids get a trade in building houses and it is a really good situation. It puts moderately priced houses in the city,” said Grobeck.

After spending a number of years focusing on constructing Habitat for Humanity homes in the greater Fergus Falls area, Carignan said the organization has made an effort to explore possibilities in other communities which could benefit from having a Habitat for Humanity home.

“We have been trying to get more out into the county,” said Carignan. “We put one in Dalton a couple of years ago.”

The new home in Ottertail was constructed by students at the Underwood School District last year and moved last summer into Ottertail. Over the past year, volunteers have been working on putting the finishing touches on things like the flooring and even the basement to get the home ready for a new family. As of last week, Carignan said the Fergus Falls Habitat for Humanity had not selected a family to live in the home, but several applications have been received. 

“We do have a number of people who are interested in the house right now,” he said. 

Each Habitat for Humanity home through the Fergus Falls Habitat for Humanity is constructed with volunteers, and in the case of the Ottertail home, Underwood School District students as part of a building trades class. Currently, the Fergus Falls Habitat for Humanity is able to construct two houses per year, but Carignan is hoping that number could eventually grow if more volunteers, or even paid contractors, could help to fill in to get the homes contrasted in an affordable fashion.

One of the things working against the local Habitat for Humanity is the sheer number of volunteer hours it takes to construct each home. Carignan said last quarter the Fergus Falls Habitat for Humanity had 74 volunteers who logged over 700 hours of time to construct its homes. 

“The traditional habitat model relies on volunteers,” said Carignan. “Of those 74 there are always a core group of volunteers that put in one day a week.”

He went on to say that volunteers are getting more difficult to come by as the longtime volunteers for the organization are beginning to age and new volunteers are being stretched thin with other commitments they already have as well.

“Volunteers are in short supply today and that is always a temporary pool because people are aging out,” said Carignan.

Even with a shortage of volunteers, Carignan said there are plans to build at least one more home in Ottertail as the organization is doing its part to provide affordable housing options to people in the region. 

In order to help fill the houses with families in need, Carignan said the Fergus Falls Habitat for Humanity has gotten creative to find ways to reach families who may qualify for a Habitat for Humanity home. For example, the organization has had a number of larger employers in the region hang up flyers to let people know about the new Habitat for Humanity homes that are coming to Ottertail and encouraging them to apply to purchase the home. Carignan said the application process is rather substantial since the model follows a traditional home financing package. 

“We are doing things to try to get the word out, but it is difficult to break through people’s noise,” said Carignan.

The home is not necessarily given to each Habitat for Humanity family as they must pay the mortgage on the home, which is geared for people who have an income around 40-80 percent of the average median income of the county. With an average median income of $100,000 in Otter Tail County, the local chapter of the Habitat for Humanity works with families with an average income of $40,000-80,000 per year. As part of the application process families must provide the local Habitat for Humanity chapter with financial records to prove they can afford the home and from there the local organization selects a family for the home.

Even with the expansive paperwork, Carignan said the organization will go the extra mile of working with each family to try to make sure they complete all of the paperwork correctly.

“It’s a substantial effort for families to submit an application,” he said. “We are always trying to get to yes, so if there is something missing there we try to talk to them.”

Even though several families have expressed an interest in the first Ottertail home, Carignan said the organization is always looking for more applications from local families who are interested in applying for the house.

To apply for the new Habitat for Humanity house, or to become a volunteer for a few hours a month or a week to help construct a new home, contact the Fergus Falls Habitat for Humanity at (218) 736-2905 or visit www.ffhabitat.org