Habitat for Humanity building 100th home in Las Vegas

When Joanne Langston-Hendrickson’s faucet started leaking in her Las Vegas home, a friend told her to visit a Habitat for Humanity ReStore, a nonprofit home improvement store.

Her decision to do so resulted in more than just a new sink.

“I saw a sign at the store that said you get a discount if you volunteer,” Langston-Hendrickson said. “I was looking for something to do to get out of the house and socialize. It was also great to be able to get discounts on whatever’s breaking.”

Soon after she began volunteering for Habitat for Humanity early last year, she found out she was eligible for a home through the organization.

The nonprofit builds and remodels single-family homes in Clark County for families making less than 80 percent of the median area income, which was about $54,000 from 2008 to 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Eligibility requirements include having good credit and maintaining a savings account over a specified amount of time.

Before the home is built, potential Habitat for Humanity homeowners must also attend homeowner education classes, make an affordable down payment and invest at least 100 hours of building their own home and others’ homes.

On Saturday, more than 50 volunteers gathered to start building Langston-Hendrickson’s home on Merze Avenue in Henderson, which also happens to be Habitat for Humanity’s 100th home in the Las Vegas Valley.

“It took us 24 years for the first 100 homes, and it won’t take another 24 years to reach 200,” Habitat for Humanity Las Vegas Executive Director Meg Delor said. “We have so much work to do in the community.”

According to Delor, Langston-Hendrickson’s home is the first of six that will be built on Merze Avenue. She added that all of the homes are scheduled to be completed by June 30.

MGM Resorts International sponsored Habitat for Humanity’s 100th home and has more than 60 volunteers who will help throughout the process.

“Being a part of the community is a huge goal of ours,” said Shauna Ferguson, MGM’s coordinator for corporate philanthropy and community engagement. “We’re all excited to come and build the house from start to finish and make the community stronger.”

Langston-Hendrickson’s home will include three bedrooms and two bathrooms, totaling 1,335 square feet.

“To be a homeowner is a bonus to every­thing else they’ve provided me,” she said. “I’ve been able to meet other volunteers, employees and homeowners; it’s been healing for my soul.”

Langston-Hendrickson lost her husband five years ago this April. She has seven children, four of whom have moved out and started families of their own and three children between the ages of 5 and 13, as well as six grandchildren and another one on the way in June.

“It’s so amazing to see this happen to her,” said Stephanie Ahrens, Langston-Hendrickson’s cousin. “No one ... deserves it more.”

Henderson resident Elizabeth Epperson knows exactly how Langston-Hendrickson is feeling as she, too, is a recipient of a Habitat for Humanity home.

“I was living in government housing with my three children in a rough part of town,” Epperson said. “I would never have been able to have my own home or bring my children to a safer area.”

Epperson moved into her home in 1997, marking the 13th Las Vegas-area Habitat for Humanity home.

“To see someone else get a home is a great thing,” she said. “It gives people opportunities they wouldn’t normally have.”

Langston-Hendrickson said she’s used to driving as far as North Las Vegas to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and is looking forward to being able to contribute closer to home.

“I’m most excited about being able to have my coffee, step outside and get right to work on another home,” she said.

Contact Ann Friedman at afriedman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588. Find her on Twitter: @AnnFriedmanRJ.