Single mother to receive home built through Women Build

Over the past two years, Christine Burk stayed at a Toledo homeless shelter and then at her relatives’ homes before she recently rented a duplex apartment she says she really can’t afford.

For the past 18 moths, the single mother of three volunteered 15 to 20 hours a month helping build homes for women in need, most recently her own future home  — while juggling motherhood and a sales-clerk job at a clothing store. She had moved here from North Carolina to be closer to her father’s family.

On Thursday, Ms. Burk, 33, who goes by Chrissy, fought back tears as she thanked fellow Maumee Habitat for Humanity volunteers who are building her home in West Toledo through the Women Build program. The work is expected to be completed by the end of October.

“I stand before you today to express my heartfelt gratitude for your generous support in helping us secure a new home during these challenging times,” she said choking back tears. “... Actually, building a safe and welcoming place to call home has been a tremendous relief.”

Just the foundation has been done and a few walls started so far at 5352 Springdale Ave. in Toledo’s Whitmer-Trilby neighborhood, where about 30 volunteers held a fund-raising party Thursday to celebrate Ms. Burk and other volunteers and kick off the Habitat’s 2024 Women Build Program. A total of about 200 volunteers are building a home for her at the location.

There was a prayer, food, music, toast raising, and a 50/50 raffle, with all proceeds to go to Habitat.

Ms. Burk said in an interview she sometimes has to choose between paying utility bills and buying groceries for her children and and herself. Getting around is also problematic, because she currently has no car and has to adjust the timing of trips to a bus schedule, she said.

Nevertheless, she is determined to continue volunteering “sweat hours” at her would-be home build site, as required of a prospective Habitat homeowner.

“The journey is worth it,” Ms. Burk said addressing the attendees. “We can’t wait to move one last time and have a place to call our home!

“... At times, I felt like giving up and moving back home with my mom, but this program has given me additional strength and faith to reach my goals and provide a better future for my boys.”

Those goals include taking photography classes to become a professional photographer, she said in an interview.

Ms. Burk’s elder son, Jordin Jones, 14, a ninth grader at St. Francis de Sales School, said he’ll do his best to help his mother juggle work, child care, and volunteer work.

Her younger son, Jaidyn Gutierrez, 11, is a sixth grader at L. Hollingworth School for the Talented and Gifted, while her youngest, A’Mora Soimis, is her 1½-month niece whom she took in as a foster parent three weeks ago.

All three attended the event. The boys hung on to their mother’s every word as she spoke through a microphone addressing the attendees while A’Mora looked on from a baby carrier.

“I think it’s a good thing for my mom and my brother, and my [little sister],” young Jones said in an interview. “This place is gonna save us a lot. ... [And] I am going to help [in the meantime]. I can do little stuff like helping around the house, and I always help my brother.”

The would-be three-bedroom home’s mortgage will have zero percent interest, and the average monthly payment will not exceed $450, according to Erin Baker, the Habitat director of development and engagement, who noted that about 80 percent of Habitat homeowners are single women.

“I invite you all to be part of the power movement that is Women Build,” Ms. Baker said as she opened the event. “We're still looking for volunteers and Women Build leaders, which is a unique and exciting opportunity for individuals who want to make a powerful and visible impact in our community.”

Stephanie Shackelford, a Habitat volunteer and Women Build committee member, echoed Ms. Baker’s call for new volunteers and told the attendees that the program is particularly “near and dear to [her], because it is all about women, empowering women.”

“Owning a home is still one of the only means to build generational wealth in our country, but too often, that opportunity is not available to the individuals who need it the most,” said Ms. Shackelford, the Lucas County Land Bank senior vice president for projects and planning.

“Home ownership means stability for anyone who owns a home,” she said. “... And for Chrissy and for her two sons, that dream is so close.”