As more than a hundred spectators applauded the moment, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh dedicated their 39th, 40th, 41st, 42nd and 43rd houses on Sunday, much to the delight of their new owners.

Stephanie Faucher can't hold back the tears Sunday as house captain Art Upright, left, prepares to present her and her husband, Warren, and daughter, Kaylah, the keys to their new Habitat for Humanity home. The construction of the Fauchers' home was financed by Episcobuild, a group project of 13 Episcopal churches.

One of those new owners, Stephanie Faucher, was so overcome with emotion that she couldn’t hold back the tears.

“I haven’t been this close to crying since I don’t know when,” she said, all the while fighting the overwhelming urge to let the tears flow. “I just want to thank everybody for allowing us to have a place to raise our children, and for the love that everyone has shown us.

“You will never know how much this means to us.” Warren Faucher expressed his gratitude to Habitat for Humanity as he accepted the keys to his new home at 40 E. Parmenter St.

“First, we want to thank everybody for giving us this opportunity to be involved in such a beautiful program that allows people such as ourselves to be able to make a better living.

“We definitely learned a lot here. We want to continue that and pass it on to other people. Hopefully we can share the process and wonderful memories with other people.”

Father Felix deJesus, pastor of Mission of God Church, blessed the Faucher house, saying that,

“It’s a beautiful thing that the community is doing building these homes.”

The Fauchers were presented with a family Bible by family advocates Kathy Fenwick and Barbard Valentino that “comes with the blessing of this house.”

House keys were presented to the Fauchers by house captains Jim Ferguson and Art Upright, symbolizing the pilgrimage that occurred in building the Habitat home. Hundreds of hours of work went into the project by the new owners, Habitat workers and volunteers who contributed their talents and their money.

Next door to the Fauchers, at 40 E. Parmenter St., is Mike’s House, a home sponsored by the Jewish community in Orange County dedicated to the memory of Mike Levine, the late executive editor of the Times Herald-Record in Middletown and a passionate advocate for social justice.
The two Habitat homes on East Parmenter are part of a 24-home, mixed-income joint project by Leyland Alliance and Habitat that will revitalize a street that had fallen into despair as a result of years of neglect.

The East Parmenter rehabilitation is an example of how the City of Newburgh can be reborn: one block at a time.

One of the speakers Sunday remarked how Newburgh police officers would praise workers and thank them for what they were doing to bring East Parmenter Street back from the brink.
As with the Fauchers, the Rosales family – Juan, Marysol, Carlos Juan, Jonathan and Carla Marysol – beamed as they took possession of their new home.

Their new home was doubly blessed, by Rabbi Garry Loeb of Temple Beth-El in Monroe and the Rev. Richard Spierling, chair of the Faith Relations Committee.

Ellen Levine, Mike’s widow, read one of Mike’s columns to mark the occasion. “That was Mike,” she commented as she concluded the reading.

The Rosales Family expressed their gratitude as they took possession of their new home:
“This house was made for Mike Levine and I know on this day that he is smiling down on us,” said young Carlos Juan Rosales.

“I’d like to thank Habitat for Humanity on behalf of my family. I think Habitat for Humanity is a great way for people in the community to help each other … and I thank the Jewish Community, too,” he said. “Now we have a place to call home.”

Sunday was a day of great achievement for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh. The dedication of five houses in a single day represented 12 percent of all the houses Habitat-Newburgh has built since its first in August of 2000.

During the first three years, Habitat-Newburgh completed 10 homes; three years after that, in 2006, Habitat-Newburgh completed its 20th home. Today, the organization proudly is dedicating its 43rd home, six of them since January 2010.

In addition to the two homes on Parmenter Street, Habitat-Newburgh on Sunday dedicated two homes on Hasbrouck Street – 58 and 59 Hasbrouck – which are new homes for the Cruz Family (Pedro, Juana, Pedro Jr., Tanya, Edgar, Cindy and Gabriella Cruz) and the Luna Family (Delia, Bryan, Anne, Cesar and Michelle Luna). Both of the Hasbrouck Street homes were sponsored by Halmar International.

The Cruz home was blessed by Bishop Joaquin Pena of Inglesia de Dios. The Luna home received the blessings of Father Bill Scafidi of Sacred Heart  and St. Mary’s Churches.

Also on Sunday, a fifth Habitat home, at 152 Washington St., was presented to the Rose Family (Shawndra, Jordan and William Rose) with a blessing by Rev. Spierling. It was built primarily by women, appropriately named the Women Build. In a former life it was the site of Big Mamma’s Soul Food Kitchen.

Abandoned for more than 25 years, the building attracted crime and violence to the same street that now houses Habitat Newburgh’s new headquarters. More than 50 women volunteers hand-demolished Big Mamma’s and replaced it with a charming two-story, Energy Star home.
Shawndra Rose points with pride to her new home, proclaiming, “This is the house that women built.”

By ALLAN GAUL
agaul@tcnewspapers.com