A group of Alachua County women is helping a mother and her daughter build their dream house.
Since April 2, Alachua Women Build volunteers have helped Jessica Saylor and her daughter, Jemiriah Godbolt, construct their new home every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. This will be the ninth house in Alachua County built by the organization, according to its Facebook page.
Sarah Harrison, a volunteer, said the group comprises 15 female volunteers, two professionals, the homeowner and her daughter. She said the cost of construction — including materials and payment for the professionals — was $80,000.
Harrison said the organization hires professionals to do the electrical work, plumbing and roof work on the houses, while volunteers build and paint the interior and exterior.
Heidi Harris, the administrator of the Alachua Women Build’s Facebook page, said the land was donated by the city. She said the living space of the house is 1,200 square-feet, including three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Harrison said the two main goals of the organization are to build houses for low-income families and empower women.
“The idea is that you can do this, too,” she said. “You don’t have to depend on your boyfriend. People learn here.”
The organization, Harris said, has done all the fundraising and receives help from local sponsors. Lowe’s donates tools and construction supplies, Southern Charm Kitchen provides free lunches to the volunteers and the Gainesville Garden Club donates grass, trees and flowers for the yard.
Wells Fargo provides an interest-free loan to homeowners, Harris said.
She said homeowners have to make a certain amount of money, complete 200 hours of labor toward their houses and go through financial-management and homeownership training before they receive loan approvals.
Saylor, a home health aide, said she had the option of choosing one of three different sites to build her house on, and that she could also make some modifications to the home.
“I chose the paint color, the door color, a stained porch instead of painting it and then the landscape,” she said.
Saylor has to pay $1,000 in a down payment, but she has the chance to divide the payment into four payments of $250, Harris said.
Harris said Saylor liked the site because it is in a good part of town and close to her daughter’s high school.
“It’s really exciting to see these families go from living in, you know, usually substandard living to being a homeowner,” Harris said.
