Heide Newton has moved five times over the past six years since she came to Seattle. For Heide and her fiance, Tristan Chalker, owning a home for their family is a dream come true.
But Heide and Tristan didn’t just buy a home. They helped build one.
This family’s dreams of homeownership became a reality at Valtera Townhomes on Holden Street in West Seattle through a groundbreaking partnership between Homestead and Habitat for Humanity, taking advantage of a generous land donation from Blue Heron, LLC. (For more details on this collaboration, see article on page 3 “Valtera Townhomes”) The Chalker-Newtons completed 500 hours of sweat equity through Habitat for Humanity in a “pay it forward” contribution to building another Habitat home…all while continuing to work and support their children Dominique, Chaya, Tessa and Lucca.
Heide describes the experience of volunteering with Habitat for Humanity: “We learned to put in flooring, insulation, and just so many aspects of building a home that I never imagined I would ever learn. My first day of volunteering with Habitat, I didn’t even know what a 2X4 was. We were so happy to help another family have the same opportunity of home ownership as we were getting through the volunteer work we did on their home. This has been a great experience for our family on so many levels.”
The Chalker-Newtons joined their friends and family on June 23rd to celebrate the dedication of their new home — they are Homestead’s 89th homeowners! But excitement about the partnership at Valtera extends beyond this one family to the broader community. Mark Ellerbrook from the City of Seattle Housing Authority was there with Steve Shay, a reporter from the West Seattle Herald, to capture photos and print a feature story for the paper about the innovative ways Homestead and other organizations are working to create lasting housing solutions in our community.
Congratulations to the Chalker-Newton family, Homestead’s 89th homeowners!
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