It was a joyous and emotional morning for several families in Hartford’s north end as they were handed the keys to their new homes.
Habitat for Humanity of North Central Connecticut built the homes from scratch and the families put in 150 hours of sweat equity.
“I never thought I would be in this position. I'm really happy that we are,” said Jerardo Ramires, one of the new homeowners.
The Ramires family’s home was built from the ground up on Capen Street. Habitat buys vacant properties from the city of Hartford and over the last 35 years has served more than 300 families in north central Connecticut.
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“We're really excited to turn the keys over to these families today, and we're really excited to introduce affordable housing that's also a high-performance home,” said Kristopher McKelvie, the construction director for Habitat for Humanity of North Central Connecticut.
On Monday, Habitat celebrated the completion of four single-family homes and one duplex. It took about a year to build them all.
Habitat has focused a lot over the years on revitalizing Hartford’s north end and the majority of the funding comes from the city of Hartford.
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Arunan Arulampalam, the mayor of Hartford, said statistically, when you transform two or three homes on a street, it can lead to almost a 30% drop in crime. He said if uplifts the entire neighborhood and leads to generational wealth.
“They're not just transforming homes. They're building wealth right here in this northeast neighborhood that really needs it, because this dream of homeownership that we're seeing fulfilled today is a dream that for too many Hartford residents, for too long, has been a dream deferred,” said Mayor Arulampalam.
The families closed on their homes with a zero-interest mortgage.
It meant so much to the Ramires family and their children. They’ve been working hard, putting in the sweat equity, and dreaming about the memories they’ll make.
“We're speechless, but we're really happy. We're grateful for everything, and just can't wait to move in,’ said Ramires.
“As a mom, dream come true,” said Yari Joma, a new homeowner. “I can't wait. I hope someday they can appreciate and see all the hard work that we've done for them.”
