ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Year after year, Habitat for Humanity dedicates hundreds of homes to those who complete their homeownership program.
Before keys are handed over, applicants have to complete 32 home buyer education courses and volunteer for at least 350 hours, helping to build other homes in the area. And with each home that is built, contractors are hired to help make it happen.
Dave Middleton owns Dave's Homework of Pinellas, a concrete company that lays the foundation for new home builds.
"[He] has actually been a preferred contractor to Habitat for many years," Mike Sutton, the President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and Pasco Counties said.
In the nearly four years Dave Middleton has partnered with Habitat for Humanity, he's learned a lot about the homeowner program.
"I've tried to come through as many dedications so I get a feel for it," Dave Middleton said. "But I get the joy out of [it] you know, it's a great program, not just that I happen to work with them, do my small part, but it's a great program and you see a lot of them, you know, grateful things coming out [of it]."
His work with Habitat for Humanity motivated him to encourage his daughter to apply for the homeownership program.
"I don't know who's more excited at a certain point," Jasmine Middleton, Dave's daughter said with a smile. "He made sure I filled out the application, like, he speaks so highly of Habitat and he's on me like every single day."
After nearly a year of completing the needed courses and volunteer hours, Jasmine Middleton was given the keys to her brand new, zero-interest home.
"I've made it to today, like now it's like the finish line. So it's just like, release," Jasmine Middleton said. "I love my house."
Jasmine Middleton is a single mother to two young girls. Her daughter Chance turns 11 in a few days. Chance is the big sister to 8-month-old Jru. Jasmine shared her oldest daughter is autistic and has cerebral palsy.
She was reminded that all her hard work was worth it, watching her daughter light up in their new home.
"So a lot of times when we talk about it, I don't know how much she really understands," Jasmine Middleton said. "So we talked about it a lot to get her prepared for it. So it was nice to see, like, genuine excitement when she walked in."
To watch the day unfold, seeing all his daughter's hard work pay off, Dave Middleton was beaming as a proud dad.
"She's an excellent mother, hard worker. You know, what else can the dad ask for?"
As Jasmine Middleton gets her family moved into her new home over the next few days, it'll be with some help from her dad.
"She said my list just got bigger," Dave Middleton said.
In total, Habitat for Humanity has built over 800 homes in Pinellas and Pasco Counties.
"So this calendar year, we're on pace to build about 75 homes," Sutton said. "We're about halfway there. So we've completed around 35 homes already in 2023. There's a huge need in our community. And so we're doing everything we possibly can to meet that need. And if the community continues to support us, we'll build more homes."
Habitat for Humanity helps those who are able to afford a mortgage, but might not be able to cover the costs that come along with the home-buying process.
"We're seeing people priced out of our community every day," Sutton said. "We work with families that want to own their own home. And so typically the families that we partner with, they make too much to qualify for home assistance, but they make not enough to qualify for a traditional home loan. And so they're stuck in a middle spot there, but with Habitat, they're able to obtain affordable housing and build equity through that homeownership."
Malique Rankin is a general assignment reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. You can email her story ideas at mrankin@10tampabay.com and follow her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.