By Sara Strong
Home is where the heart is, and for Shari Kracht that will soon be the southwest corner of Southwest Park and Warren streets.
As the first Habitat for Humanity homeowner in the area, LuverneÕs Kracht said she looks forward to the freedoms home ownership brings.
"I want to be able to walk outside ... have a backyard barbecue," Kracht said.
She said the best part of living in her own home will be having a private place for her children to play.
Kracht and four of her six children live in a rented town home now and look forward to being more independent.
Eight-year-old Nicholas said, "I've been so happy about this. I look forward to it so much."
As far as the extra responsibility a home can bring, Kracht said she'll gladly take it. "It's just something I've been dreaming of," she said.
Kracht applied to the Southwest Minnesota chapter of Habitat for Humanity in November and interviewed in February.
The interview process could have been more stressful, she said, if the people on the selection committee weren't so nice.
The Habitat home is financed through a zero-percent interest loan and comes at a reduced price with extra donated labor and materials.
Because of area weather conditions, the organization is permitting the Southwest Minnesota chapter to build the home with a basement, which is usually forbidden.
Homeowners are required to put in 500 sweat-equity hours, which Kracht will complete with some extra hours donated by her older children.
To qualify, Kracht had to establish that she had need for a home at a reduced price and that she'd be able to handle one if she got it.
All of the technical details don't matter much to her at this point, though. She's just happy to see a home on the horizon for her family.
"It's still so overwhelming and hard to believe," Kracht said.
Up next
Habitat for Humanity will break ground on the construction project in April.
Pam Dobson, is the home's construction volunteer coordinator. She said a youth group from Tracy has already signed on to help with the project, and because it is a regional Habitat home, expects to see help come from the entire area.
Volunteers are needed for skilled and unskilled labor. Calling ahead is essential so the project has the correct ratio of skilled to unskilled workers. Painters, plumbers, electrical and dry-walling skills are especially needed.
If people can't help with the actual construction or finishing of the home, Dobson said volunteers can be a great help in other ways.
She said, "We'd like to have lunches on the site so the workers don't have to leave and purchase a meal. I'd also like to train a site hostess for every Saturday who can be there and greet people and know their way around a little bit."
Dobson can be reached at 283-4431.