“What is exciting to me is to be called a homeowner. Where we are living now, we are paying rent to someone else. We have no way of saying this is ours, the money is gone. Now, when we pay, we pay knowing that we are paying for our home.” – Prosper Hezumuryano

It was an overcast and rainy Saturday morning at Helensview Heights but spirits were high as volunteers, homebuyers, friends, and family gathered to celebrate our newest Habitat for Humanity homeowners. Home sponsors from Bank of America, Cisco, NW Pump, and Habitat’s Women Build had the pleasure of presenting the hardworking families with the keys to their new homes.

If you’ve followed our Instagram you’ve seen the amazing progress at our Helensview build site located in the Cully neighborhood at NE 64th Avenue and Killingworth. Each of our families have put in hundreds of hours of sweat equity, helping to build their own home, and the homes of their neighbors. Our supporters like to say that we don’t just build houses, we build communities. That sentiment couldn’t have been felt more wholly this weekend. The joy and gratitude shared by the sponsors, volunteers, and homeowners was contagious.

“Cully is where low-income families and people of color are most likely to be pushed out and displaced from because of the rising cost of housing. Today, over half of our residents in Cully are paying more their half their income to rent, which doesn’t leave enough for basic life necessities.” – Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East CEO Steve Messinetti

Cully is one of Habitat’s neighborhood focus areas. In addition to constructing new homes, we’re also tackling critical home repair projects for residents who can’t afford major problems like roof repair. With land prices and rents rising, sometimes by as much as 100%, it is even more important for Habitat to help support Cully’s residents.

Do you want to be a part of our community? Here are a few ways that you can get involved with Habitat:

Volunteering: We can always use help at our office or on a build site and require no previous experience. Learn more about how you can volunteer.
Donations: Individual donors are vital to our success. Click here to join other generous donors in supporting our mission.
Social Media: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Tag us @habitatpdxmetro and help spread the word.