HABITAT: FAMILY GETS ITS FIRST HOME

For Don and Tina Hanebrink, the American dream of owning a home always seemed just out of reach. But this weekend, they moved into a home they can call their own.

"It just feels wonderful," said Don Hanebrink Sunday after the couple and their three children had spent only one night in the home, which sits on a corner lot on Hanover Street.

His wife said the reality that the home is theirs was "sinking in slowly."

She said her children love the three-bedroom house. The couple are parents to Donald Jr., 9, Sarah, 5 and Mandy, 4.

"It's the first time the girls have had a bedroom of their own," she said.

The couple lives in one of two homes dedicated Sunday by members of the Cape Girardeau chapter of Habitat for Humanity, a group of citizens that renovates and builds homes for low-income residents.

The second house, located on the corner of Hanover and Good Hope, will become the home of Perry and Veronica Dietiker and their three children.

George E. Peo, president of Habitat for Humanity, said though the group is able to provide the homes through volunteer labor and donations from area churches and individuals, they don't consider themselves a charity.

He said all of the people who are given the homes are employed and work alongside Habitat members while the homes are being built.

"These are people in lower-paying jobs," he said. "There is no way they could save the money for a down payment on a house."

The Hanebrinks previously lived in a home they rented from a relative that sits just down the street from their new one. Don Hanebrink, a maintenance worker by trade, said he helped with rewiring, painting and wallpapering the home where his family now lives.

Peo said the Hanebrinks' home was donated by Grace United Methodist Church and moved to its current location. The year-long process of renovating the home left it with many new features, including an additional bedroom and a new furnace.

Tina Hanebrink said watching and helping with the construction of the home made her family very anxious to move in.

"It seemed longer than a year," she said. "But it's just been a day and we're already arguing over where the trees should go."

The Dietikers' three-bedroom home was built from scratch by Habitat members. It will be finished in one to two months, Peo said, and it is a model of how most Habitat homes are built.

Members of the First Presbyterian Churches in Cape Girardeau and Jackson and the Westminster Presbyterian Church are the primary laborers on the Dietiker home.

"We don't put in a lot of extras, like air-conditioning, but it's a good solid place to live," Peo said.

The families rent the homes for the first year, with payments going toward ownership. They also pay for the insurance and taxes. After the first year, ownership of the home is turned over to them.

The family is charged no interest on their "loan" and Habitat makes no profit. Peo said the payments are affordable, usually just over $150 a month.

About 50 people attended Sunday's dedications.

Habitat for Humanity is a worldwide Christian housing ministry. The local branch was established in 1985.

Qualified families are selected before work begins on a home and the family must contribute at least 350 hours of labor to the home.

Habitat has built five homes in the Cape Girardeau area, and is already planning a sixth. The organization owns three undeveloped lots on which it hopes to built new homes. The group usually invests $20,000 to $30,000 in the homes, not including volunteer labor.

Peo said Habitat has 16 board members and about 15 volunteers. He said the organization is always looking for qualified families and for volunteers, especially ones who are skilled.