These people change lives is how a local resident sums the volunteers from Habitat for Humanity.
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The Sanctuary Point resident and mother of two (name withheld) had gone through a difficult stage in her life and needed help.
She turned to Habitat for Humanity and is now living in a recently renovated home.
“They give people a hand up - not a handout,” she said.
“I was reluctant about contacting them at first but then I thought ‘no go for it’ and I did,” she said.
She had just moved down from Sydney, following the death of her partner, and had also lost her home to a bushfire in 2001.
“We sort of struggled from then on,” she said.
“This has given me so much hope and just to have a permanent roof over our heads so we don’t have to struggle anymore is wonderful.”
She is excited to start this new part of her life and now wears a permanent smile on her face.
She can’t thank Wendy and Greg Boyd and all the volunteers from Habitat for Humanity enough.
“The house has a peaceful feel which is exactly what my family and I need,” she said.
Mr Boyd is the Illawarra Chairperson Habitat for Humanity and said they are always happy to help people in need.
“The main mission here is to give a family hope and stability,” he said.
The Sanctuary Point resident was given access to the house thanks to a low interest loan and also had do some of the renovation work like painting and landscaping herself.
The renovation work started late 2016 and a group of volunteers had been coming down to help.
To see someone now getting their life back track makes everything worthwhile for Mr Boyd, his wife Wendy and all the other volunteers.
“It all makes me feel happy for her (the resident) and I can see the change in her already,” he said.
“It’s a journey for her and she has had a hard life but it (the house) gives her stability and gives her children the chance to be in a permanent residence.”
Habitat for Humanity’s vision is for a world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live.
They believe a stable, secure home creates the foundation for change and a safe home gives people the opportunity to be healthier, happier and more secure, and for children to be better nourished and better educated.
Habitat for Humanity believes building a decent home provides much more than bricks and mortar – it provides real hope for the future.
The housing organisation began in 1976 as a grassroots effort and has since grown to become a leading global non-profit working in more than 70 countries.
Worldwide, Habitat has helped more than 9.8 million people obtain safe and decent housing, along with the strength, stability and independence to build better lives.