The District Chronicles

Issue date: 2/17/08 Section: Cover

A year ago, Linda Washington, her husband their two children were crammed into a two-bedroom apartment in a crime-infested neighborhood in northeast Washington with no apparent way out.
"The neighborhood was full of drugs," Washington, 41 said. "I was afraid to leave my kids in my own apartment."

Last Thanksgiving season, Washington had plenty to be thankful for.  Thanks to Habitat for Humanity, her family moved out of that neighborhood and into the spacious, two-story, three-bedroom home in a quiet neighborhood of brand new homes. Washington's home sports a mood of elegance and beauty with a line of pictures of relatives and family friends hanging up. A chandelier hangs over a beautiful glass table. The dining room set that adorns the table is all gold, from the plates to the napkins. A huge devotional image of Jesus hangs on the right wall of the living room.

"I thank God for everything that has happened over the past couple of months," a content Williams said.  "He has been my provider in the deepest way. I prayed every night that he would bless me and my family with a better life, and He answered my prayer."

Washington, an outpatient assistant in the maternity ward at Washington Hospital Center, is one of 19 new homeowners in a neighborhood Habitat for Humanity has decided to turn around. The organization, which helps low-income residents achieve the American dream of homeownership, is building 53 homes on 4.3 acres between 55th and Clay Streets in Northeast.

Michael Bowers, a single father of three kids, Angela, Kevin and Christina, works full time as a Verizon technician. He was just about to be evicted from his apartment for a three-month rent delinquency when he spotted an ad in the paper about Habitat for Humanity.  It changed his life.

"I was raised in the projects as a child, so I didn't know what it felt like to live in a house," he said with a glee in his eyes. "This was my chance to make things right. I couldn't have my children living on the streets. I never thought that with my income I would ever afford a house."

Five additional homes are under construction and the organization is striving to reach and maintain a 10-home per year construction pace, Habitat officials said. Habitat sells homes with no-profit, no-interest mortgages of 25 years, and monthly payments under $425. The houses are sold at $99,000 each. Funding for the new houses comes from various sources, including local corporations and individual donors.

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