Bishop Blesses 26th Catholics For Habitat Home
On Dec. 21, Bishop Charles C. Thompson blessed and dedicated the 26th Catholics for Habitat home completed by Evansville-area parishes. Janay Turner and her sons, Jayden, 6, and J’Sean, 2 are set to move into their new home, which is located in Evansville’s Jacobsville neighborhood.
“Janay, I know this is a great day for you, but it’s also a great day for our community,” Bishop Thompson said. “I hope this home is a place of many happy memories for you … your smile says it all.”
Turner’s is the 11th home completed since the Catholics for Habitat committee formally organized in 2005. It’s also the eighth home that Habitat for Humanity has completed in Evansville during 2015, and the 445th in the organization’s local history.
“It’s an incredible feat to build this,” Catholics for Habitat board member Amy Tenbarge told Turner. “For you to be strong enough to say I want to apply (for a Habitat home), I want to better myself, I want to take ownership in a home … Janay, you are a strong, brave woman. You should be commended for that. Congratulations, and all the best to you.”
Turner has provided 300 hours of sweat equity to Habitat since she and her sons were accepted as a partner family. Friends and family members also volunteered, and they assisted the single mom with childcare so she could work on her new home.
“I want to thank everybody who played a part in this,” Turner said. “Everybody was such a big help.”
Seventeen Catholic parishes in Vanderburgh and Posey counties supported this build with a combination of volunteer labor and donations. Don Gillies, who served as a member of the core building crew, presented Turner the keys to her new home.
“On behalf of the core crew and all the citizens who came out to help us, I am very honored to present to you these three keys,” Gillies said. “… the key to this building, the key to your home and the key to your future.”
