Two months ago Melissa Bellows and her two young daughters were living in a two-bedroom apartment.
As much as it was a home it wasn’t really their home and 13-year-old Brianna couldn’t decorate the room she had to share with younger sister, Shae-Lynn, 6, with the colours she liked.
Today she’s in a room that’s painted teal and grey because she loves those colours. That room is all hers and in a house she can truly call home as it’s in a house that her mother owns.
Bellows went from tenant to homeowner thanks to the Habitat for Humanity Newfoundland and Labrador Corner Brook build.
Bellows and her neighbours in the duplex-build on Petries Street were special guests at an event at Corner Brook City Hall Friday to celebrate the completion of the homes.
Bellows was overwhelmed with the crowd around her, but still able to express her thanks and gratitude for being selected as one of the homeowners.
Applying to become one of the homeowners was something she almost didn’t follow through on.
Bellows said after friends told her of the opportunity she filled out the first application and then got a call back for the second one.
As she went through the second round, Bellows said she felt like she couldn’t do it. With help with local build committee member Steve Gaulton she was able to complete the application.
“If it wasn’t for him it never would have got passed in.”
Being able to say the home is hers is amazing, she said, and she’s enjoying putting the finishes touches in place.
“It’s calming to know that we actually have a safe place to call home.”
Her neighbours on the other side of duplex are Jessica and Adam Quehe and their two children Tyler, 9, and Zoey, 5.
When addressing the people gathered, Jessica Quehe said the Habitat organization provided her family with an opportunity to own its own home.
“For us that’s the world," she said. "We have stability, peace of mind and most important a place to call home, a place to raise our family.”
The Corner Brook build received $170,000 from the Investment in Affordable Housing Agreement between the federal and provincial government and was built on land donated by the city.
