Kent Attainable Housing, Inc. has reached a major milestone – building its first house for a local family in need.  With great excitement, on February 1, the family of five completed its move into a three-bedroom, modular home in Chestertown.

It is you, your neighbors, your friends and local organizations whom we want to thank for helping to make this happen.  You joined together in typical Kent County fashion to help deliver an affordable house to a working family earning not much more than minimum wage. You opened your wallets and pocketbooks, contributed your time and expertise, and donated appliances and furniture.  While it is impossible to list everyone who joined in this remarkable effort, we want especially to acknowledge:

Darren Tilghman and ShoreRivers
Genie Wootten and Raisin, Wootton, and Hurd Law Firm
Amanda Wallace and BB&T Bank
Unitarian Universalists of the Chester River
Michael Scott and Michael Scott Surveying
Wayne Rickert and Rebuilding Together Kent County
Alden Yeatman and Chestertown Builders
Steve Arnold and Energy Services Group
Jay Yerkes and Rosin Creek Collaborative
Greg Smith and Smith Law Firm
Bill Noll and Zane Carter and SCORE

To the more than 30 individuals who volunteered over 800 hours of their time to paint walls and doors, build porches, hang drywall, excavate walkways, install appliances, and do countless other tasks, we are so grateful.

Finally, this milestone could not have been reached without your generous donations.  Over 90 individuals and organizations contributed more than $100,000 to help subsidize the cost of our construction program for this and future houses and to make mortgages more affordable to their owners.  We thank these organizations for their contributions: Emanuel Episcopal Church, Bramble Foundation, Ed Hatcher and Angie Cannon Foundation, People’s Bank, Macintosh Family Fund, Doug Ashley Real Estate, Rotary Club, and the United Way of Kent County.

Please refer to our website at kentattainablehousing.org for a complete listing of everyone who contributed to this effort.

This is what it took to build our first house, to ready our first family for ownership, and to begin the process of meeting the needs of the more than thirty five families with which we are working .  Now we are moving on to construction of our second home in Worton.  We expect our program to accelerate and expand, making more homes available for ownership by working families.

We are so fortunate to live in a community where so many folks care so much about families less fortunate than themselves.

Sincerely,

Kent Attainable Housing, Inc. Board of Directors

Lani Seikaly, President
Ed Minch, Vice President
Kathy Appel, Treasurer
Jonathan Chace, Secretary
Dora Best
David Biehler
Carolyn Brooks
Ronnie Edelman
Cheryl Hurt
Nivek Johnson
Pam Ortiz

Kent Attainable Housing, the new nonprofit that helps low-income families become homeowners, is now completing its first home for a family of five. Situated on the site of the former Garnet High School, the modular house, named the “Garnet House,” was delivered on October 28 with many excited community watching the dramatic arrival. “On a scale of one to ten, I’m at 11,” said Ed Minch, Project Director. He and others had worked tirelessly to get to this day when the new home would be delivered to a vacant lot on College Avenue.

Since the arrival of the home, volunteers from Rebuilding Together Kent County have been lending their resources and expertise to construct a front porch. “It’s a nice example of collaboration between local non-profits,” said Jon Hanley, Board Member for Rebuilding Together. Wearing masks and socially distancing, a cadre of volunteers has been hard at work since Tuesday. Rebuilding Together Kent County is an affiliate of a national organization which assists low income homeowners in repairing and improving disability access to homes.

Gale Quist, a Heron Point resident, heard a talk about Rebuilding Together and said, “Sign me up!” Having had experience in building his own home, he is an eager first-time volunteer at Garnet House. Tom Eager was also working on the front porch last week. Retired from American Airlines, he said he knew basic carpentry and was learning to use a router. “I like to help out, and I like working with my hands,” said Tom.

Kent Attainable Housing volunteers will continue to complete the house and landscape the grounds. Property has been purchased in Worton for the second home. Applicant families matched with houses are required to attend 15 hours of free financial management and homeowner education. Kent Attainable Housing believes that when homes are built for families in need, foundations are laid for healthier, happier and more productive families and a stronger community. They plan to build 40 homes over the next decade.

For information about Kent Attainable Housing, call 443-282-0622 or email kentattainablehousing@gmail.com. Rebuilding Together Kent County is also accepting applications for assistance. Call 410-708-9936 or email info@rtkc.org. Both organizations welcome financial contributions and volunteer help.