Ten families are celebrating 15 months of hard work on the corner of South Thompson Road and West Branch Street in Nipomo.
The families built their own two-story homes from the ground up.
“Amazingly, we completed this project,” Rebecca Cordero said.
70-year-old Cordero and their husband Anthony made their dream a reality.
“It was physically and mentally hard because you had to focus on the project and completing the home,” Cordero said.
Previously, the Corderos lived in a small one-bedroom apartment.
“I have 19 grandkids, so when we got together, we got together in our little apartment," said Cordero. "Now, they have a three bedroom two story house."
Noemi Velasquez is their new neighbor.
“The building process to home ownership was really difficult,” Velasquez said.
As a single parent, manual labor was hard for Velasquez.
“Quickly, we learned we all can come together collectively and learn new skills to build our homes,” Velasquez said.
Over a year ago, ten qualifying families trained with People’s Self-Help Housing to build their own homes.
Since 1970, this program has helped out families through this program over 1,200 families.
“This is probably one of the only opportunities folks will be able to participate in the American dream of home ownership and build wealth for their family,” said Ken Trigueiro, president of People’s Self-Help Housing.
Cordero says she has a message for others in similar situations.
“I always had a dream to live in a home again at my age," said Cordero. "You're never too old to have a dream and have it fulfilled."
People’s Self-Help Housing finds a piece of land and subdivides it into lots.
They then get the project approved. After all the basic infrastructure around the property is set up, they invite the chosen families to learn about the programming background and training.
The eligibility is designed for people who aren't making more than 80% of the area median income for the whole household.
Once qualified, then they are picked through a lottery system.
