By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Amy Olea kept hitting roadblocks on her route to home ownership. But she refused to give up – and on Thursday she watched as people gathered to welcome her home.
“I believe this home is meant for my children and me,” Olea said as she stood on the empty lot where her new home will be built.
“My kids and I have been through a lot before we got here in our life,” said Olea, who has worked the last four and a half years as assistant manager at Subway.
Olea still remembers her son’s reaction to their family being selected for the Habitat home at the corner of Clough and Manville streets.
“My son said, ‘Mom, am I dreaming? Are we really going to own our own home,’” Olea said.
On Thursday that dream moved one step closer to reality when ground was broken for the second Habitat home in Bowling Green.
“To me, today is a new foundation – the start of something new for my children and me,” Olea said before the groundbreaking ceremony.
Olea and her children, Kerrie, 19, and Ryan, 13, currently live in a small apartment in Bowling Green. The kids are excited about having a house of their own.
“Honestly, I think it’s such a blessing,” Kerrie said. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
Ryan credited his mom with not giving up.
“I’m so proud of her – of so much work she’s put in,” he said.
Olea applied for the Habitat home, but first got a rejection letter. But she persisted, calling the Habitat office to inquire why she was denied. She was told that Habitat was actually trying to get ahold of her, since a mistake had been made and Olea was approved.
Then as she was working on the paperwork, Olea was initially told that her student loan could get in the way of her homeownership. But she worked around that too, and proved that she could handle the zero interest mortgage with Habitat.
So on Thursday, Olea and her children were surrounded by people welcoming them to their new neighborhood, and ready to help build their new home.
“This means we are ready to go,” said Mark Ohashi, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Wood County. The lot will be excavated in the next couple weeks.
Olea has already put in a lot of “sweat equity” on other Habitat homes, and will now work on her own.
“Amy has been an incredible future homeowner, and an incredible volunteer,” Ohashi said.
“This was the opportunity Amy was hoping for,” he said. “Everyone deserves a decent place to call home.”
The Habitat home will be the result of much teamwork. The city of Bowling Green and its utility department donated the property where an old water tower previously stood. Olea’s home will be the second of three.
Other businesses have stepped up to help, including Bowling Green State University and its students, Wells Fargo, Wood County Hospital, NSG, Cooper Standard, BG Kiwanis Aktion Club, and Rotary Club.
“Amy, we are here to support you on your road to homeownership,” Ohashi said.
Olea thanked all the volunteers who would be helping to build her new home – “a stable, happy home for my children and me.”
And she thanked Habitat and God “for blessing me with a place for my children and I to call home.”
Several officials welcomed Olea to the neighborhood.
“This has been a total team effort on behalf of the city of Bowling Green,” Mayor Dick Edwards said.
“We’re grateful for all the support,” Edwards said, adding that the Habitat home will be another step toward neighborhood revitalization on the East Side.
BGSU President Rodney Rogers noted the close proximity of the Habitat home to campus.
“Amy, welcome to the neighborhood,” Rogers said.
“We are so excited to be a part of this at BGSU,” he said. “We are a public university, for the public good.”
Elected officials added their praise for the organization and Olea.
“It’s an awesome thing to be able to build a home for Amy,” Wood County Commissioner Craig LaHote said.
“This is such a wonderful reason to come together today,” said State Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green. “The work done by Habitat for Humanity really changes lives.”
And State Rep. Haraz Ghanbari, R-Perrysburg, welcomed Olea home.
“This is a community, Amy, where you will be surrounded by love and compassion,” he said.
