THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE
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by Michael Monks
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After a dispute with neighbors in Newport that led to her house being shot up, police suggested that Merlyn Mabrey move her family from that street. The divorced, single mother says the shooting instilled fear in her three young children. "I got my kids out, they were scared to be there," Mabrey said. Housing Opportunities of Northern Kentucky (HONK) contacted Mabrey and told her that they may have something for her. The faith-based non-profit has rehabbed seventy-five homes and built thirty-six in Northern Kentucky over the past twenty years and on Wednesday unveiled its latest completed project on Cavanaugh Street near Linden Grove Cemetery in Covington.
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HONK offers prospective home buyers who need a little more time to fix credit scores or save cash for a down payment to participate in its lease-purchase program, as Mabrey and her kids are doing. Not only is Mabrey's family getting a second chance at home, the house offered a second chance at life for several youths, too. HONK collaborates with Youth Build, a program that is run out of the Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission to help young adults (ages 16-24) to earn their GED, enroll in college, and earn a carpentry certificate.
HONK offers prospective home buyers who need a little more time to fix credit scores or save cash for a down payment to participate in its lease-purchase program, as Mabrey and her kids are doing. Not only is Mabrey's family getting a second chance at home, the house offered a second chance at life for several youths, too. HONK collaborates with Youth Build, a program that is run out of the Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission to help young adults (ages 16-24) to earn their GED, enroll in college, and earn a carpentry certificate.
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“YouthBuild does such great work and this project has been no exception,” says David Hastings, HONK’s Executive Director. “The prior owners used the house as a good rental property for many years. Our goal was to take it up a notch and make improvements that would provide a quality homeownership opportunity to a local family.”
“YouthBuild does such great work and this project has been no exception,” says David Hastings, HONK’s Executive Director. “The prior owners used the house as a good rental property for many years. Our goal was to take it up a notch and make improvements that would provide a quality homeownership opportunity to a local family.”
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The house on Cavanaugh was purchased by HONK last November and since then, young workers from Youth Build upgraded the kitchen and bathrooms, carved out a third bedroom, installed new ceilings and ceramic tile, painted the interior, and refinished the hardwood floors. Hastings calls the HONK/Youth Build partnership a great model to transform lives and improve the community at the same time.
The house on Cavanaugh was purchased by HONK last November and since then, young workers from Youth Build upgraded the kitchen and bathrooms, carved out a third bedroom, installed new ceilings and ceramic tile, painted the interior, and refinished the hardwood floors. Hastings calls the HONK/Youth Build partnership a great model to transform lives and improve the community at the same time.
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Mabrey, meanwhile, expects to finish her master's degree in business by the end of the year and hopes someday to open her own bookstore. She has spent the past seventeen years as an instructor for children with behavior problems at Sixth District Elementary School in Covington. Looking around her new home, many visions for the future emerge. "I'm very excited," she said. "My kids have been through so much. This house has been a blessing."
Mabrey, meanwhile, expects to finish her master's degree in business by the end of the year and hopes someday to open her own bookstore. She has spent the past seventeen years as an instructor for children with behavior problems at Sixth District Elementary School in Covington. Looking around her new home, many visions for the future emerge. "I'm very excited," she said. "My kids have been through so much. This house has been a blessing."
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PHOTOS FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE BELOW, JUST CLICK THE LINK!
PHOTOS FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE BELOW, JUST CLICK THE LINK!
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