A hand up: Habitat for Humanity holds ceremonious wall raising on new home for 2 Utah County families
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- Habitat for Humanity of Utah County held a wall raising ceremony Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, for a new family home in Pleasant Grove.
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- Habitat for Humanity of Utah County held a wall raising ceremony Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, for a new family home in Pleasant Grove.
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- The Gomez-Helt family attends Habitat for Humanity of Utah County’s wall raising ceremony for their new home Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025.
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- Janie Reyes, left, and her four children attend Habitat for Humanity of Utah County’s wall raising ceremony for their new home Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025.
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- Habitat for Humanity of Utah County held a wall raising ceremony Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, for a new family home in Pleasant Grove.
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- Garrett Stevenson, Habitat for Humanity Utah County’s construction manager, participates in a wall raising ceremony Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, for a new family home in Pleasant Grove.
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- Raymond and Sicily Bennett of Habitat for Humanity Utah County’s critical home repair team watch as a wall is raised on a new affordable home project in Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025.
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- Habitat for Humanity of Utah County held a wall raising ceremony Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, for a new family home in Pleasant Grove.
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- Habitat for Humanity of Utah County held a wall raising ceremony Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, for a new family home in Pleasant Grove.
Two Utah County families are one step closer to having their longtime dream of affordable, stable and spacious housing becoming a reality.
On Wednesday, walls were raised on a new multifamily home just west of John Hancock Charter School in Pleasant Grove.
The construction is part of a Habitat for Humanity of Utah County project to build a neighborhood of new affordable homes near downtown Pleasant Grove — each dwelling spanning roughly 1,600 square feet, with enough room to house two families.
Wednesday’s wall raising marked the second of eight homes to be constructed in the community.
Two families, one goal of attaining sustainable living
For the Reyes and Gomez-Helt families, who will be residents of the new home, the ceremonious occasion signals a future that at one time seemed out of reach.
“We’ve been dreaming about this for so long, and we’re here today,” said Janie Reyes, a single mother of four who currently resides in Spanish Fork in a home that their family has outgrown.
For years, Reyes said she struggled to find housing that’s suitable for her family and that she could afford on a single income. With the cost of rent and basic home essentials consistently on the incline, there were times the dream home that she wanted to achieve for her and her children seemed unrealistic.
But Reyes remained determined in her pursuit.
She was compelled to look into homeownership through Habitat for Humanity of Utah County after coming across a story several years ago about a single mother who had recently become a homeowner through the program in another state. It was a story of triumph that deeply resonated with her.
After some researching and preparing the needed requirements for the program, Reyes eventually received an email that they’d been accepted and it sparked a sense of hope.
“And since then, every single step, it was like a step forward,” she said. “And so at that point, I realized this is where I’m meant to be. We were supposed to cross paths and be part of this community.”
The path to affordable housing has many bumps in the road for the Gomez-Helt family as well.
Chance Helt and his wife, Ali, who were once high school sweethearts and later found their way back to one another, have a blended family of six. They currently live in a two-bedroom apartment in Pleasant Grove.
Chance said they struggled to find a place big enough to accommodate their family. Despite his and Ali’s combined incomes, finding adequate housing felt unattainable.
“In this economy, it just feels like a pipe dream sometimes,” he said.
The tide for their family began to turn when a friend introduced them to Habitat for Humanity of Utah County and they learned how others in similar situations have been helped. The couple decided to apply for housing, and even though they realized how competitive and thorough the selection process was, they held on to hope and were eventually selected.
“We’ve definitely gone through ups and downs, and it’s been really cool to see that we have this opportunity for habitat and we’re super grateful for all of the sponsors and volunteers and donors and everyone,” Ali Gomez-Helt said.
Coincidentally, Wednesday’s wall raising aligned with the first day of school in the Alpine School District. In projecting for the future, Ali shared a manifestation she looks forward to on the first day of school in 2026.
“We keep thinking about how next year we’ll be taking pictures with our kids in front of our (new) house. And, like, our baby’s first steps could be in our house, and that’s pretty exciting,” she said.
The family has four children — 11, 10, 4 and a 2 month old, who spent nearly a month in the NICU after being born — as well as a dog.
Chance said he’s excited for a home with more room and to be a part of the beginning of a new community.
Combatting the affordable housing crisis
According to a study released in July by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, Utah ranks as the ninth-most expensive housing market in the country.
The average price of a single-family in Utah home sits at roughly $547,700, though the price tag is slightly higher in Utah County, with the average home price at $595,00. That’s a nearly 3% jump between 2023 and 2024, according to the study.
Through Habitat for Humanity’s Homeownership Program, the nonprofit organization provides affordable housing for Utah County families in need. The charity builds the homes with help from volunteers.
Alan Hill, executive director for Habitat for Humanity Utah County, says they usually get anywhere from 50 to 100 families who apply for the homes. He describes their service as a “hand up, rather than a handout” approach.
“When you look at all of these families that really need help and that are deserving of it as well — you know, the whole hand-up approach — it’s exactly what a family (needs),” he explained. “They don’t need the handout; they don’t even want the handout. But just that little bit of hand up makes all the difference in their lives.”
Families are selected based on several criteria: need, willingness to partner and ability to pay.
Selected families contribute through sweat equity, volunteer work and homeownership education, fostering long-term stability and self-reliance.
Homes are sold at 0% interest, with mortgage payments reinvested into future builds and home repair programs.
Hill said the homes usually take a little under a year to construct. The nonprofit is also in the beginning stages of selecting families who will occupy a future home to be built on a neighboring parcel.
Constructing these homes doesn’t come cheap, he added, which is why they heavily rely on corporate sponsors that can support through a financial contribution and/or volunteer hours on their build sites.
It’s those partnerships that he says ultimately lead to light at the end of the tunnel for families in need of stable and affordable housing.
“Having the community come out and that awareness of what we’re doing and helping us fulfill the dreams of these families and giving them a safe and affordable home, it’s beyond words,” Hill said.
As both families took part in laying the framework of what will soon be their new homes, each expressed their own form of gratitude.
Reyes said she looks forward to building new memories with her four children.
“I know that we’ve been wanting something like this stability for so long. And being a single mom for so many years, it just brings me a lot of hope, and (knowing) everything that I did for them and worked hard (for) was all worth it,” she said.
When asked how he was feeling Wednesday as construction began on their new home, Chance Helt could barely hold back his emotions.
“It’s a roller coaster (of emotions) for sure,” he said. We’re super happy. … It’s so incredible.”
