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KINGSTON – Carmelo Gonzalez, a DeKalb resident who previously lived in Chicago, said he is forever grateful that he, his wife Leah and their four children have an opportunity at a better life in Kingston.
“It gives us a stable place,” Gonzalez said. “Instead of moving from this apartment building to another apartment building, being at the hands and the mercy of other landlords. If they want you gone, you got to go. With us owning a home, that’s not something that’s necessarily going to continue. We plan on staying here for a while. So it’s a nice stepping stone to get started.”
The Gonzalez family makes for the latest to benefit from a new home construction build thanks to the efforts of Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County and its partners.
On Sunday, project leaders joined Kingston officials, faith leaders, volunteers and the Gonzalez family for a home dedication and blessing. During the event, the Gonzalez family took part in a candle lighting and prayer. They also were showered by gifts.
Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County Executive Director Kim McIver said she believes the Gonzalez family made the right choice for this home build because of their “willingness to partner and interact with the volunteers that built the home.”
“It’s gorgeous. It’s a nice house – very well built. Seeing all the detail, the amount of detail that the general contractor pays attention to. It’s minutiae stuff. It lets me know like it’s well built. I know it’s well built. I actually see that myself.”
— Carmelo Gonzalez
The home, which has four bedrooms and two bathrooms, occupies 1,381 square feet, with space for an additional 1,381 square feet for an unfinished basement.
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Gonzalez said the attention to detail on the house is great to see.
“It’s gorgeous. It’s a nice house – very well built,” Gonzalez said. “Seeing all the detail, the amount of detail that the general contractor pays attention to. It’s minutiae stuff. It lets me know like it’s well built. I know it’s well built. I actually see that myself.”
The Gonzalez family has a couple weeks before they are expected to move into their new residence in the 300 block of Spring Street, Kingston.
Gonzalez said that leaving DeKalb will feel bittersweet for him and his family.
“It was real bad a while ago,” Gonzalez said, referring to the crime. “It’s gotten a little bit better since then. It just wasn’t the ideal place to raise kids.”
Gonzalez said he looks forward to making Kingston his new home.
“It’s pretty quiet out here,” Gonzalez said. “A lot of these people actually have lived out here for their entire lives. They’ve raised their kids out there. Some are raising their kids out here. You got the neighbors house right there. … They can keep a close eye on them in a small town. That’s one of the benefits of a small town. Everybody knows everybody. We’ve already been getting to know some of the neighbors.”
The Gonzalez family is expected to close on the sale of their new home by the month’s end, project leaders said.
McIver touted the hundreds of hours that volunteers put in to help Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County in completing projects, such as the Gonzalez family’s new home build.
“I always say that a habitat home is built by love of our volunteers,” McIver said. “That’s what makes our homes so special is that our volunteers are here because they want to be.”