When Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Indiana was looking for a place to develop homes as part of its mission to serve families in need in nearby communities, the City of Lake Station presented itself as the perfect place to execute that goal.
Once the city was made aware of this need for subsidized housing, Mayor Bill Carroll and team members worked with the city council to get the project approved.
“Habitat for Humanity has managed all of their applications and decisions; our entire role in this has just been supporting them and giving them what they need from us,” Carroll said. “They came to us and were looking for a place to expand, and we were excited to open our doors for them.”
City of Lake Station Director of Communications Jack Daniels touched on how well this project fits into the community due to the improvements that are already occurring in an effort to reform the area. The city is also extremely welcoming to growth, allowing new families to come in and be greeted with open arms. With excited new residents entering the area, Daniels feels that Habitat for Humanity is providing not just basic resources, but a sense of belonging as well.
“The area of Lake Station is going through major changes, and part of that is due to just how close-knit, supportive, and accepting this community is,” Daniels said. “That makes it a place that, in our opinion, is perfect for an organization like Habitat for Humanity and the people that they bring here because we know they will not just be receiving a physical home, but a metaphorical one as well.”
The first home to be built by the nonprofit organization celebrated its ribbon-cutting in late June this year, marking the start of what is set to be a year of great development in the city. By the end of this summer, Habitat for Humanity expects two more homes to be completed. The project will then see an additional six lots dedicated for development in the City of Lake Station, bringing the total for housed families to nine.
Carroll feels that the area where the homes are being developed was perfectly selected not only for the families who are set to reside there, but also because of how the spot had previous plans to transition into a housing area.
“The area is long overdue for families and strong communities,” Carroll said. “It was meant to be turned into subdivisions 50 years ago, but the plans fell through, and it has sat since. Now, Habitat for Humanity is presenting the opportunity to take an area that needs and should be utilized as homes and is making it into something that is good for people and good for Lake Station.”
One of the more notable contributors in this project with Habitat for Humanity is the Lake County Redevelopment Commission. From the very beginning, when ideas of bringing housing to the area were first being tossed around, the redevelopment team has worked to ensure that the process of planning and executing will be as seamless as possible for all those involved.
One way to ensure that smooth process involves advertising and promoting the organization’s work. With a nonprofit as devoted and hard-working as Habitat for Humanity, this is a fairly easy task. However, Daniels has found one of the best qualities of the organization is how motivated its team is, no matter the task in front of them.
Daniels also discussed how exciting this project is for the reason of bringing new faces to the city. Since Habitat for Humanity works to find the individuals who are in need of the housing, the City of Lake Station is then gifted with new families to interact with and learn from.
“Once Habitat for Humanity finds someone who needs a home, they then begin the building process, which is fantastic because it not only brings new faces to our city, but it also allows us to become involved with the new families in our community from the moment they join,” Daniels said.
These relationships formed with new residents truly inspire the work that people like Daniels and Carroll do every day. Being able to learn directly from the families who need the most support in Lake Station gives those who serve them the information to improve, adapt, and make changes where necessary.
Most of all, the housing currently being created and scheduled for completion in the near future by Habitat for Humanity is only a steppingstone in the right direction, fueling the City of Lake Station’s larger goals for the community.
“We are hoping that as the homes build and continue to grow, we can use this as inspiration to tackle more of our abandoned housing and help more housing-troubled individuals in our city,” Carroll said.
For more information about Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Indiana, visit its website at www.habitat.org/us/gary/hfh-northwest-indiana. For more information about the City of Lake Station, visit its website at www.lakestation-in.gov.
