GREENFIELD — Wearing a yellow Habitat for Humanity hard hat Saturday afternoon, 46-year-old Christa Pylant hammered one of the first nails into the outer wall of her future home.
After the pounding of the hammer ceased, she turned to the eager crowd with an excited, proud smile. The onlookers applauded and exclaimed their congratulations before gathering around one of the boards of a window frame to write their well-wishes in Sharpie.
“Blessings for a peaceful, happy home,” one note read. “Welcome to Greenfield,” read another.
Most likely by next summer, Pylant and her 15-year-old daughter Ilani will move into the two-bedroom, energy-efficient home at 33 Smith St. being constructed for them by Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity.
According to Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Megan McDonough, Pylant and her daughter were selected in a lottery from three eligible households. To Pylant, being selected couldn’t be more of a dream come true.
“I was on the Cape visiting a friend (when I got the phone call), and I just started crying,” she recounted.
Pylant described herself as a single mother working as a paraprofessional at Amherst Regional High School. She said splitting monthly bills with housemates has allowed her and Ilani to get by, but the two could never have afforded a home of their own without Habitat for Humanity.
“I can hardly believe this is happening,” she said. “This is the break we’ve needed for quite a while and I’m so blown away that so many people donate their time and energy to something that’s a benefit to someone else.”
According to McDonough, a five-member building team met weekly for the past year to get plans underway, all leading up to the celebratory wall-raising ceremony Saturday.
The building team will oversee volunteers during construction largely on Tuesdays and Saturdays. By the time the house is complete, approximately one year from now, McDonough said, hundreds of volunteers will have played a role, including a hospitality committee that provides refreshments.
“Together, we make something that’s totally amazing,” said Beth Paulson, a member of the team. “There’s so much love going into this place.”
Being the first Habitat for Humanity home built in Franklin County in five years, McDonough was filled with excitement Saturday watching it come together.
“We get to see it go from just a slab on the ground to a house with walls,” she said.
McDonough said finding the lot, which was purchased last summer, proved challenging, but said she’s pleased to return to a great neighborhood in Greenfield.
“It’s been a long time since Habitat has been here building in Greenfield and we’re thrilled to have it back,” agreed MJ Adams, Greenfield’s Community Development administrator.
The architectural group Austin Design, of Colrain, designed the building, and the local solar company PV Squared is donating solar panels in hopes the home will potentially be a zero net energy home.
“I remember one time a family telling me they spent $1 (on electricity) for the entire year,” Philippe Rigollaud, procurement manager with PV Squared, said of a Habitat for Humanity home he was involved with in Amherst. “That gave them the ability to funnel all the money into the mortgage and not worry about electricity.”
To offer homes to low-income families at an affordable price, McDonough said Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity receives support from local banks and private donations of money, material and, of course, labor. The Franklin Community Co-op will play a role in providing volunteers, which Paulson feels are becoming more abundant. Thirty new volunteers recently attended an orientation in Greenfield, McDonough said, and hopefully, Paulson added, more volunteers will mean more houses.
It’s safe to say Christa and Ilani Pylant will be familiar faces working at the construction site. One day, Pylant hopes she’ll be able to tell grandchildren about how she and Ilani helped build their home, and about the countless volunteers who contributed their own time and energy to make their dream a reality.
“It really does feel like love,” she said. “(I feel like) I’m going to wake up in a moment and say ‘I dreamt…’”
To learn about volunteering with Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity, visit pvhabitat.org/ways-to-volunteer.
Reach Shelby Ashline at: sashline@recorder.com
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