The Volunteering Page of Kyle Kranz

family and current housing
After spending most of her life in SMHA (Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority) rentals, Renee Russell is excited to be on the path to homeownership with Habitat for Humanity. Although she understands how subsidized housing works, Renee is frustrated that every time she gets a raise at work her rent also increases preventing her from being able to save up to purchase a home on the open market. At the time of application, Renee and her three youngest children were living in a SMHA scatter site home. Overall, SMHA usually takes care of maintenance requests, but the home does have some structural problems. The windows are old and so drafty that the living room and kitchen curtains have frozen in the winter. Some of the windows have no locks while others are nailed shut. Previous flooding in the bathroom and kitchen has resulted in mold, weak spots in the flooring, and damage to the basement ceiling. Continuing unaddressed plumbing issues in the bathroom led to Renee paying out of pocket for a new showerhead and to have the toilet snaked. The house has been broken into twice and there are bullet holes in the siding on one side of the house. After hearing good things about the program from friends and being frustrated with raising rental costs, Renee applied to Habitat. Unfortunately, she did not qualify on her first several attempts because of failing to meet income and debt requirements. Rather then give up on her dream, Renee worked hard to increase income and pay off some debt to qualify upon reapplying. Renee is thrilled to now have the chance to own her own home and create a “home base” for her family. “With my kids being older, once they leave out on their own it [the new Habitat house] will be there for holidays, birthdays, and just to celebrate as a family,” Renee explained. “We’ll meet up there at my home with our other family members.” Currently living with Renee are three of her children: Chaniah, Charles, and Chaneece. Chaniah is currently in nursing school and works at a group home. Charles plays football and participates in track and field while attending Malone University. Youngest child, Chaneece, is a senior at McKinley High School where she is involved in a sports medicine program. Renee also has an older son and one granddaughter she enjoys spending time with.

a bright future
While in the Habitat program, Renee will invest numerous hours of sweat equity hours at ReStore, on worksites, and in House2Home education classes learning valuable skills regarding homeownership, maintenance, and personal and financial wellness. Having children old enough to be on a Habitat worksite means Renee will enjoy the added blessing of working alongside them as they construct their future home. In addition to completing sweat equity hours and raising her kids, Renee works for Canton City Schools to provide financially for her family. Soon, all her hard work will pay off and the Russells will have a home to call their own. "I would like to thank all the volunteers for helping our family build our home,” Renee said. “I appreciate each and every one of you and thank you very much!"