Family moves into new Habitat home in Uniontown
Roberto M. Esquivel/HeraldStandard.com
Susanna Anderson looks out over her neighborhood from the entrance of her family’s new home in Uniontown, Monday morning. The Anderson’s received the keys to their new home, made possible by Habitat for Humanity of Fayette County and Sandvik Mining and Construction.
Roberto M. Esquivel/HeraldStandard.com
Susanna Anderson looks out the window of one of four bedrooms in her family’s new home, made possible by Habitat for Humanity, and Sandvik Mining and Consruction.
Roberto M. Esquivel/HeraldStandard.com
Ashley Anderson, 22, looks over her new bedroom after a dedication ceremony Monday morning. When asked what personal belonging she would add to the room she replied “a picture of my dad.”
Roberto M. Esquivel/HeraldStandard.com
Susanna Anderson is congratulated by the Rev. Michael Matusak (left), Saint Therese Church of Uniontown, after the monsignor blessed the new home.
Ashley Anderson of Uniontown loved the present she received on her 22nd birthday on Monday.
The gift, a new home at 24 Varndell St. provided through Habitat for Humanity of Fayette County, will be shared by her mother, brother and grandmother, who were forced to move from the home they used to rent after it was condemned.
“I want to thank everybody for what they did for my birthday,” Ashley said.
Representatives of Habitat and Sandvick Mining and Construction of Brier Hill, which sponsored the project, handed the keys to Susanna Anderson, Ashley’s mother, after the Rev. Michael Matusak of St. Therese Roman Catholic Church of Uniontown blessed the home.
“This is the most rewarding part. This is the Andersons’ day,” said Habitat President Dan Visnauskas.
“Now I’m standing in front of my own home with my own keys,” Susanna Anderson said after the dedication.
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom home is accessible for Susanna Anderson’s son Johnny Anderson and her mother, who was in a nursing home on Monday, but is expected to join the rest of the family soon. The only family member missing was Susanna Anderson’s late husband Eugene Anderson, who died a few years ago.
Habitat approved the Anderson’s application for a new home before Eugene Anderson died, said Habitat manager Jackie Shrum.
“He really looked forward to this,” Susanna Anderson said.
She said their former home on Coolspring Street had a leaky roof and the laundry room floor sank.
The Andersons had to use a pipe wrench to turn the broken handles on a spigot in the bathroom, Shrum said. The windows looked like they were about to fall off and mold grew in the damp basement, she said.
Building inspectors gave the Andersons two hours to gather their belongings and leave before they condemned the home, Shrum said. They want to retrieve a TV and some other property they left behind, she said, adding that the family was staying in a shelter provided by the City Mission.
Susanna Anderson said she took what she valued the most — family photos, DVDs and videos — before she left.
“They’re starting from scratch,” Shrum said. “They’re starting with nothing.”
She said the Community Foundation of Fayette County donated money for household items to the Andersons, hospital beds for Frances and Johnny Anderson were donated and Community Action of Fayette County gave the family vouchers to buy furniture.
Habitat requires its clients to help build or put “sweat equity” into their homes, but Susanna and Ashley Anderson have minor disabilities that prevented them from doing that kind of work, Shrum said. Instead, they earned their sweat equity by working at Habitat’s Restore, she said.