Akron, Ohio, is the home of the International Soap Box Derby, where things go downhill fairly quickly.
That wasn’t lost on Michael and Louise Crosland, when they found themselves in similar economic straits there in 2021.
COVID was roiling — and the economy of the Northeast Ohio city was floundering.
In the shadow of the pandemic, jobs there were scarce, and affordable places to live were, also.
Michael and Louise, husband and wife, soon found themselves without a permanent address in Akron.
Their landlord was selling the house they were renting, and they couldn’t afford the asking price.
Like the Soap Box Derby, they were going downhill in Louise’s hometown.
Under unlucky circumstances, they were luckier than a lot of their neighbors, however.
They were able to reach out to family in West Virginia.
Michael grew up in Doddridge County, where his relatives opened their door.
The move to the Mountain State eventually led to Morgantown — and Mon Valley Habitat for Humanity, the organization that builds houses for people who might not achieve that part of the American dream otherwise.
Saturday was a turn-key day in Kingwood for the Akron transplants.
Mon Valley Habitat dedicated its 69th build on Sisler Street there. It’s a triplex, and one of the units is theirs.
“This is such a blessing,” said Louise, who, with Michael, did painting at the build while volunteering at Habitat’s affiliate ReStore retail shop and also at Scott’s Run Settlement House, an area outreach agency.
Volunteering is the ethos of Habitat, which was founded in 1976 in Georgia.
Families volunteer “sweat equity” hours to the dwellings they’ll soon be occupying.
Elaine Holstine McVay, Mon Valley’s Habitat executive director, said the Kingwood dedication is even more special, because it is for three families.
Another family is set to move in, as well, with a third being interviewed.
There are currently more 800,000 Habitat homes in the world, from Tanzania to Tucker County, McVay said, but the mission goes beyond that.
“They’re more than a number,” the executive director said.
“They represent opportunities for families for partner families to become homeowners in a newly constructed, safe and affordable home.”
He’ll take it, Michael Crosland said.
“Sometimes, you don’t realize how important having a place to live is, until you don’t have it,” he said.
“We’re so grateful to Mon Valley Habitat for Humanity,” he said, “and we’re grateful to be moving into a place that’s our own.”
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