If you drove through downtown on Saturday afternoon, you probably noticed the big celebration happening at Blankenship Place, the 4-unit Habitat for Humanity development across the street from the Sebastopol Safeway.
Four families—the Mitchells, Styles, Beatons and Villaboys — were given keys to their new homes. These families, however, were already intimately familiar with these abodes, having worked more than 500 hours to help build them — per Habitat’s requirement for “sweat equity.”
At the event, there were lots of speeches from Habitat representatives and others, including Andy Bannister, founder and board president of Sebastopol’s Earthtone Construction, who talked about how meaningful he found their work with Habitat on Blankenship Place.
The property was named after Jack Blankenship, the founder of Sonoma County Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, which sells new and used furniture and construction materials. Blankenship, who died in 2021, grew up in poverty with insecure housing. Known as “Mr. Habitat,” he spent his adult life helping other people in need. Jack and Phyllis Blankenship’s son Mark spoke about his parents’ work with Habitat, then gave gifts to the families — antique lanterns that belonged to his parents.
And the gifts kept coming: The Moonlight Quilters of Sonoma County donated a quilt to every child and every adult to make their new house feel like home.
“This was such a special part of the ceremony,” said Rachel Jeffries, Habitat’s director of Community Engagement & Fund Development. “The kids especially were ecstatic for their new quilts!”
Mayor Jill McLewis welcomed the families to Sebastopol, as did Supervisor Lynda Hopkins.
“On behalf of Sebastopol, I just want to say welcome home,” McLewis said in her remarks. “One of the things that I love most about this community is that people are so kind here, and we all feel connected in so many different ways.”
She thanked Habitat for Humanity “for everything that you’ve done here, and everyone who has played a part in making this happen today.”
Hopkins also welcomed the four families, saying, “I’m so thrilled to be your neighbor. I live about a five-minute drive or a 10-minute bike ride from here, and I want each and every one of you to know that not only are you welcome, not only do you belong, but you are cherished and you are honored and you are part of our community. We are so thrilled to have you here.”
She noted that the Habitat program “is not about giving and receiving charity. This is about co-creation. This is about building your future, not only financially but also physically,” referring to many hours each family had spent working on their home.
When the speeches were done, everyone walked out with the families to each of their front doors and opened the doors together to their homes.
The families won’t be able to move in right away because, although the homes are almost complete, there are still some details left to finish.
“We’re in the home stretch,” Jeffries said after the event. “We expect to be finished by the end of September.”
What’s next for Habitat for Humanity Sonoma County?
In his remarks on Saturday, Habitat for Humanity SoCo Board President Doug Garrison announced that the organization had two new properties in the works in Sonoma County and would also be relaunching their “Aging in Place” home repair program for low-income seniors in October. Originally created in 2016, the program went on hiatus after COVID.
“We’re excited to be relaunching it,” Jeffries said. “The home repair program is, for us and Habitat International, almost as important for housing stability as new construction.”
Low-income seniors who own their own homes in Sebastopol and West County are invited to reach out to Habitat about “Aging in Place” at repair@habitatsoco.org or at 707-578-7707 x204.
Beautiful moment for these families and community! And gorgeous quilts!😍🤩🙌🏼❤️