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ALICE, Texas — For Leonel “Leo” Gonzales II, receiving the keys to his new home Friday represented far more than a new address.
The Jim Wells County chapter of Habitat for Humanity celebrated its 23rd home build by presenting Gonzales and his family with the keys to a house they helped build through months of work, dedication and community support.
Among those excited to move in was Gonzales’ daughter, Mavis.
“My favorite room in the house is my room,” she said with a smile.
Habitat officials said Gonzales, who has worked at McDonald’s for 11 years and is on the autism spectrum, completed hundreds of hours of sweat equity to qualify for the homeownership opportunity.
While Habitat for Humanity helps make homeownership possible, the homes are not given away. Families purchase them through affordable, no-profit mortgages after meeting program requirements and contributing volunteer labor.
“This is a hand up, not a hand out,” said Sandra Bowen, president of Habitat for Humanity of Jim Wells County.
She says she’s happy her community can offer a hand up to Gonzales.
“Leo went above and beyond,” Bowen said. “He works at McDonald’s, and he would get out of work at 10 in the morning and come straight over here to work side by side with our board of directors that work on the building and with our Care-A-Vanners that come from across the country to work on this building.”
Those Care-A-Vanners included Peggy and Tom Wilcox, who have spent years traveling the country in their RV volunteering on Habitat construction projects.
“When we go to a community we build,” Peggy Wilcox said. “This row we’ve done all of these houses, we’ve done the four or five houses before these that are scattered around town. It’s just how we spend our leisure time.”
The Wilcoxes are part of a group of 10 couples who travel together to assist Habitat affiliates nationwide.
Their work in Alice expanded after the city donated four lots to Habitat for Humanity. Gonzales’ home became the fourth house completed on the block.
“If you look this way, there’s three homes that we already built,” Bowen said. “We built one home a year, and Leo is actually the fourth home here.”
Habitat’s work in the neighborhood is not finished.
The city has since donated a fifth lot adjacent to Gonzales’ new home, creating another opportunity for a future family to achieve homeownership through the program.
For volunteers like the Wilcoxes, the reward comes from seeing the long-term impact of their efforts.
“We plan to go as long as we possibly can, because I think we get more out of it than the family does,” Tom Wilcox said. “And then we get to visit them later on and see how their lives continue, and it really makes a difference for us. That’s what keeps us going.”
The home dedication marks another milestone for Habitat for Humanity in Jim Wells County as the organization continues its mission of helping families build stability through affordable homeownership.
