San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity Celebrates 100th Family Served With Home Dedication in Altadena

With the help of donors and supporters,?San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity (SGV Habitat) committed to transforming the lives of 100 families through affordable homeownership and home repair, locally and abroad?over three years?during their?Expanding the American Dream?campaign. This past weekend the 100th family was celebrated with a home dedication ceremony, marking the almost completion of the first SGV Habitat home built in Altadena.

Close to 100 supporters gathered Saturday for the home dedication at Olive. Ave. in Altadena to witness a life-long dream come to fruition for a family of 5 whose goal of homeownership will soon become a reality when they purchase their SGV Habitat home. ?

The celebration was attended by LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger; Altadena Town Councilmembers Veronica Jones, Nic Arzen and Victoria Knapp; SGV Habitat Board Members Debbie Slavin and Eric Chen; volunteers, generous donors and SGV Habitat staff.

"The power of collaboration is on full display today,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “The partnership between San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity and the County of Los Angeles is making affordable homeownership a reachable goal in a very tough economic climate. This is about uplifting families. I am a proud supporter of projects like this one.”

For years, Brenda and Gerardo and their three children, Samuel (12), Alessandra (10), and Esmeraldo (6) have felt the strain of living in a house too small for their family needs, but with the high cost of housing in the Los Angeles area they saw no other options. In February of 2020, hope for homeownership was in their future as they successfully submitted their application to SGV Habitat. In March 2020 Covid-19 shut down all SGV Habitat construction and the dream of homeownership for Brenda and Gerardo was once again put on hold. But they didn’t give up. Nearly three years later, their dreams are coming true!

“Today we celebrate a new beginning for Brenda, Gerardo and their children,” says Bryan Wong, SGV Habitat CEO. “Their story is a great reminder that the need for affordable housing in the San Gabriel Valley is overwhelming. In LA County, recent estimates stated the yearly salary needed to buy a median priced home and comfortably make the mortgage payment is $221,592. That means the ability to own a home is getting further out of reach for more and more households.”

San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity transforms lives and communities by bringing people together to build, renovate, and repair affordable homes for families in need across Los Angeles County’s San Gabriel Valley. Since their inception in 1990, as an independent affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, they’ve brought people together to build homes, communities, and hope – driven by a shared vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live!

The local nonprofit has nearly 60 projects on the horizon for the next two years including new builds in Azusa and Baldwin Park. For more information visit www.sgvhabitat.org