Hart County Habitat Dedicates 21st Home

Hart County Habitat for Humanity recently dedicated its 21st house for Yolanda Feaster and her family.

Persistent; the only word to describe the attitude of Hart County Habitat for Humanity’s most recent homeowner, Yolanda Feaster, as years rolled by during the building process of her American dream. 

Hart Habitat for Humanity celebrated Feaster’s official move into h er new home – a home she waited for for a very long time with a dedication service in early May.

And determination speaks to the heart of every volunteer, donor and contractor as the project seemed cursed by a pandemic, supply-chain issues, inflation and lack of available workers.

Due to a disability, Ms. Feaster is confined to a wheelchair and was unable to enter the structure at any time during construction. 

The wheelchair ramp at her new home was built by the Hart County Golden K group and was installed only days before the dedication service. 

The 61-year-old single mother wore her emotions on her sleeve the day of the dedication, as a house full of family, friends and special guests gathered to admire her new, affordable, energy efficient residence.

The Habitat for Humanity process involves building an affordable home with primarily volunteer labor and as much donated material as possible so the final mortgage amount is attainable to the very low-income applicant. 

Hart Habitat holds the mortgage and collects monthly payments from the carefully selected homeowners who repay the mortgage over 20 years with no interest.

Payments also include escrow for property taxes and insurance, which means a Habitat homeowner not only improves their own living conditions but also benefits the economic conditions of the community.

Yolanda thanked the crowd with happy tears and a clutch of the family Bible presented to her by the local affiliate.

Additionally, Hart Habitat’s next two selected partner homeowners were announced. 

They are Rebecca Durrett and Brittany Harland. 

Their homes will be built side by side on Johnny St in Hartwell. 

Fundraising efforts are underway through a unique Hart Habitat program called “The Amazing Hartwell Housing Race.” 

Two teams of local women community leaders are racing to secure donated contract labor and materials so that the homes can be built at the same time. 

Hart County Habitat for Humanity is located at 900 Benson St (ReStore location) beside Quality Foods Shopping center. They can be reached at 706-376-3258. Or at [email protected], www.harthabitat.org, or www.facebook.com/hartcountyhabitat.