New Standish resident closes on local Habitat for Humanity’s 100th affordable home
A dedication of Michelle Demers' new three-bedroom home in Standish was held Oct. 15. She purchased the home through Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland. (Courtesy of Habitat for Humanity)
Michelle Demers and her 11- and 12-year-old children moved in with her parents in Hollis in recent years after she left a bad relationship, she said. Despite working full time as a phlebotomist at Maine Health Maine Medical Center in Biddeford, she could not afford housing for her family.
Now, Demers’ children are talking about the colors they want to paint their new bedrooms. She picked up the keys Thursday to her own three-bedroom house in Hunters Haven subdivision off Nature’s Way in Standish. It’s the 100th home that Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland, a nonprofit organization that builds affordable housing, has helped a Mainer buy since its first in 1987.
“Me and my kids will finally have a place to call home. This is ours. It’s like a happy ending,” Demers, 41, said.
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland built about two or three houses for residents in need each year until 2022, and has since built an average of eight per year. Demers’ home is one of 12 houses that will be completed in Standish by the end of 2026, following an eight-home subdivision in South Portland last year and preceding a nine-home neighborhood in Gray planned for next year.
A recent survey of 824 Mainers by the Siena Research Institute and Maine Trust for Local News found an overwhelming 85% of people have negative feelings about the availability of affordable housing in the state. That struggle is what Habitat is combating.
Applicants must prove they are in need of affordable housing, but make at least $40,000 a year and meet other financial metrics to show they can pay off a reasonable mortgage.
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Then, they are required to dedicate 275 volunteer hours toward helping build houses for the program, as well as take financial education and homeowners courses.
Demers applied to the program in February and was accepted in April. Many of her volunteer hours, called “sweat equity hours,” were spent building her own home and the homes of her future neighbors in the Hunters Haven subdivision.
“It was a great experience, because you get to learn all these things that you’ve never done before,” Demers said. “I’ve never done siding, or flooring, or putting insulation in. I got to meet some really great people.”
Chad Mullin, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland, said most of the homes the organization builds have a market value of around $475,000, but they typically sell them for $300,000 to $325,000, adjusting price based on what the owner can afford. Many owners also qualify for USDA Rural Development loans, making purchasing a home even more accessible.
Mullin said that two of the homeowners in the Standish subdivision applied to the program twice, and one applied three times before being accepted because their financial situation was initially not secure enough, but later improved. The organization connects rejected applicants with financial counselors who can sometimes help them eventually qualify.
“Housing is such a key component to who we are as people,” Mullin said. “When people have decent shelter — affordable, adequate, safe, warm places to live — they have a basic foundation to build their lives on.”
Demers said she looks forward to moving into a neighborhood of people who successfully went through the program. She heard several of her neighbors are also single mothers.
“Everybody knows what everybody went through,” Demers said. “Hopefully we can all kind of get to know each other, maybe help each other out.”
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Tagged: affordable housing, habitat for humanity, housing
Madeleine is a community reporter for Gorham, Buxton and Standish. She started her journalism career in Vermont, where she reported for Seven Days and served as the editor-in-chief of Middlebury College's. More by Madeleine Kaptein
