By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
As Thalia Castro, 14, piled marshmallows in her hot chocolate, she compared her family’s new house to the trailer they have lived in for the past three years.
“It will be warm,” Thalia said of their new home. “Sometimes it got so cold the toilet froze.”
Her younger sister, Tressa, 12, was busy checking out the bedroom she and her sister will share. She opened their bedroom closet and turned on the light switch.
“There’s a light,” she said with excitement. “This is an upgrade.”
“Personally, I think it’s perfect,” Tressa said of her family’s new Habitat for Humanity home in Bowling Green. “I think we’re going to become happy in this house.”
In the bedroom across the hall, Romeo, 8, was figuring out where his bed would be in the room he will share with his 2-year-old brother, Royal.
“My bed will go right here,” Romeo said, pointing to the spot. “There’s two outlets. I love it.”
And their mom, Anastasia Castro, is happy that she can finally give her children a home with three bedrooms and affordable payments.
“Everything is new,” she said. “This will be worry-free.”
Castro hopes to have her family moved in from their Bowling Green mobile home park to their new Habitat home by Christmas.
“That’s exciting,” she said.
Their new home, at the southwest corner of Manville Avenue and Clough Street, was built by volunteers who believe that affordable, decent housing should not be a luxury. The home was slated to be built in 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID pandemic, explained Mark Ohashi, executive director of Wood County Habitat for Humanity.
“This has been a long time coming,” Ohashi said during the dedication ceremony on Thursday afternoon. “We have been impressed and amazed with your resiliency. Your time has come.”
Ohashi spoke of all the “sweat equity” hours Castro put into the construction of their home.
“You really built your own home,” working on everything from the floors to the trim, Ohashi said.
He then directed his comments to Castro’s four children.
“Your mom worked really hard to provide you with this house that you can grow up in,” he said.
Habitat for Humanity not only builds homes, but also hope, Ohashi said. The sidewalk in front of the Castros’ new home was full of volunteers who helped to build the last of three homes on property donated by the city of Bowling Green to Habitat in 2017.
“To you, I say ‘job well done,’” Ohashi said to the bundled up volunteers. Habitat “brings people together to build a home and build a community.”
Ohashi thanked the city with entrusting Habitat with the land, BGSU for partnering on the build with its construction management students and faculty, and corporate sponsors that helped pay for building materials.
“These homes aren’t free. The materials aren’t free,” he said.
Ohashi recognized people who played key roles in the Castros’ home, like Matt Snow, housing specialist with the City of Bowling Green.
“It’s really amazing to see so many people come together,” Snow said. “It’s definitely well deserved,” he said to the Castro family.
Ohashi recognized Jacob Clemens, who organized the student volunteers from BGSU.
“It elevates our university’s commitment to the public good,” Clemens said of Habitat.
Ohashi thanked Jim Overmyer, the site construction manager.
“The quality of these houses are just incredible. There were no corners cut.”
And he recognized Heidi Reger, the architect of the Bowling Green homes.
“It’s my way of paying it forward,” Reger said.
As the dedication ceremony came to a close, Barbara Brunner handed the Castro family a keychain to their new home – representing a “new beginning. A forever home, where love and laughter is shared,” Brunner said. “May love and peace permeate these walls.”
