Inn Between participant graduates to home ownership

One Inn Between participant is graduating to home ownership thanks to a partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

Olga Martinez, a single mother of two, has been a participant in The Inn Between's transitional housing program since May 2018. The transitional housing program provides safe, stable and affordable housing for families and individuals who are facing homelessness in the Longmont area. The program supports people living in the St. Vrain Valley area who are working more than 30 hours a week and making at least 40% of the area’s median income. 

Though typical transitional housing lasts for 24 months, The Inn Between’s Executive Director Tim Rakow said they make exceptions in circumstances like Martinez. When Martinez qualified for the Habitat St. Vrain program, The Inn Between extended her stay in the transitional housing to make the whole process seamless.

“It’s nice when one of our residents from the program exits into a Habitat home,” Rakow said. “That’s really kind of the best of all scenarios, getting them into a home ownership opportunity.”

The duplex that Martinez will be moving into is one of twelve Habitat St. Vrain developments in Dacono built over the last few years, part of Habitat St. Vrain’s neighborhood revitalization program. Habitat St. Vrain’s Director of Development John Lovell called the partnership between Habitat and The Inn Between a “continuum of housing,” helping people move from homelessness to stable housing and eventually to being homeowners themselves.

“It’s a community effort in building these things, involving business, government and our other nonprofits,” Lovell said. “This is a beautiful example of the way we like to work.”

Volunteers from Habitat St Vrain and Inn Between were at the Dacono build site on Friday to contribute to the cause, along with a crew from B&M Roofing who donated their time to the house. 

Habitat homeowners contribute 250 hours of sweat equity towards their homes, in addition to meeting certain financial requirements and attending courses on budgeting, home maintenance and more to ensure that potential families are committed.

The six representatives of The Inn Between donated their time, Rakow said, contributing 50 hours towards Martinez’s sweat equity goals on the build as a show of solidarity for all her work. The Inn Between’s Bilingual Housing Advocate, Leslie Ogeda, expressed pride in Martinez's perseverance as a low-income, single income Latina mother. Martinez struggled but continued to maintain her income and keep up with her financial needs throughout the pandemic. 

“(Martinez) has always worked really hard to get ahead,” Ogeda said. “She’s got a really great spirit, incredibly kind and a strong go-getter to do all this by herself.”

Martinez herself had just received her second dose of the COVID vaccine and was recovering from the temporary effects, so she wasn’t present on Friday. In a press release, Martinez expressed her gratitude for both Inn Between and Habitat St. Vrain, along with her desire to be a good Habitat partner for the program.

“When I found that my family was selected for a Habitat home, I was full of joy to see the effort and dedication when one works towards your dreams,” Martinez said in the release. “My reaction first was in gratitude to God for the immense love for my family and those around me.”