OLATHE, Kan. — There’s no place like home, especially for one Olathe veteran who says he’s waited his whole life for Friday, the day he became the owner of a brand new home.
Gabe Snowden’s two-year-old daughter, Ashlyn, is a budding gymnast, and she’s now using the living room in her new home as practice space. That’s 1400 square feet of space she can tumble around.
“How long have I been waiting for a home like this? My entire life,” said Snowden with a smile.
Snowden waited two years and put in more than 350 hours of work to build his dream home. It was built in partnership with Heartland Habitat for Humanity and Olathe School District.
“There are 1,400 volunteer hours. That’s a long, long time. It was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears,” said Tom Lally, the Heartland Habitat for Humanity President.
“I can’t express the feeling because they’re overflowing,” Snowden added.
Snowden, who is also a veteran, lived in a two bedroom apartment before which limited his little athlete’s passion.
“I’ve had to stack the entire living room on the back deck in order for her to be able to do it,” Snowden said.
Now Ashlyn might have a hard time choosing where to do her next cartwheel. There are three bedrooms in the house.
“There’s a second bedroom downstairs and that will be her room,” he said grinning.
From application to moving in, the process takes nearly a year to complete. Snowden feels lucky to have a place to call home.
More than 500 people apply each year for a new home with Heartland Habitat for Humanity. The nonprofit organization is able to build only five to ten homes every year.
They cover five counties in two states and currently have future home builds lined up in Liberty, Wyandotte County, and Leavenworth.
