HOLYOKE — After years in a cramped Holyoke apartment, Pedro and Damaris Aponte will finally have a place to call their own. On Monday, Dec. 22, they’ll receive the keys to a sustainable home built by Habitat for Humanity and local students — a project that blends community spirit with hands-on learning.
The dedication will be hosted by Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity in partnership with the Holyoke Housing Authority and the University of Massachusetts DesignBuild program at 1:30 p.m.
Life hasn’t been easy. Right now, the Apontes make things work in their small one-bedroom apartment and unfriendly neighbors sometimes make life even more difficult, they told organizers.
Pedro Aponte, who is retired, worked hard to make this happen, attending every Housing Authority meeting and applied just two days after the process opened, organizers said in a statement.
While they don’t have children together, they share a big, blended family with five kids and a dozen grandchildren between the two of them.
The new home is 575 square feet and designed to save energy complete with well-sealed walls, triple-pane windows, and runs on all-electric appliances.
Builders also used eco-friendly materials like wood fiber, hemp and straw, said Ben Leinfelder, who managed construction for this year’s DesignBuild project and graduated from the program.
Holyoke Housing Authority donated a plot of land on Chestnut Street, Greater Springfield Habitat prepared the site and built the foundation.
Building the home wasn’t just a community effort — it was also a classroom in action. The DesignBuild team came up with the plan for the house in the spring. They started building it in the summer, and by November, the finished home was delivered.
This project is a great way for students to get real, hands-on experience, and it helps Habitat give a home to a family that might not qualify for one of our usual builds, said Aimee Giroux, executive director of Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity.
“Family size is one of many factors taken into consideration when building our homes and partnering with the future buyer. There is a need for affordable housing to benefit a variety of family sizes; not everyone needs three or four bedrooms. This project helps us to be able to make that happen,” Giroux said.
