Joseph Mayo was an electronics technician on a submarine in the U.S. Navy for 16 years and now one of the first homeowners of the Habitat for Humanity Seattle - King County (Habitat SKC) Veterans community in Pacific, Washington. Because of the growing need for homeownership opportunities for veterans, Habitat SKC is building a community of nine homes all reserved for veterans. The project is slated for completion in late 2018.

The community, known as Megan’s Meadows, helps Habitat homeowners establish security and self-sufficiency so they can build a better life for themselves and their families. Habitat’s vision for veterans is to help them thrive by providing housing, employment, and financial education. The community provides a place for Joseph to live among like-minded veterans—a place that feels like home where he can settle down and not worry about moving from place to place, a familiar experience for him from growing up in a military family and serving in the military himself.  Joseph says this community also saved him from being homeless. He was facing rising rent prices—an issue that plagues many veterans—and this gave him an opportunity to own his first home and be part of the community.

Homeowners in a Habitat veterans community are expected to put in sweat equity hours and attend financial education classes. Megan’s Meadows is made possible by a partnership with Habitat SKC and the City of Pacific. Many other organizations partnered with Habitat SKC to help build the community including AmeriCorps, Team Red, White and Blue, and more. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency also partnered with Habitat SKC by providing ductless heat pumps for all nine homes.

Ductless heat pumps provide a clean, efficient, and sustainable system to heat and cool homes, which supports healthier indoor and outdoor air. Joseph says he likes how the heat pumps allow for a cleaner and more comfortable indoor space says. “The system keeps it warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, and keeps a more even temperature. That way I don’t have to open my windows which will allow pollution coming inside, especially with all of the trains that go by.”

Habitat SKC is working tirelessly to help make things a little easier and accessible to the people that need it most. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is proud to support Habitat SKC in their efforts to provide a better place for veterans. When asked Joseph what Veterans Day means to him, he says “it helps me reflect on the people I knew in the military and especially the ones that have lost their lives to help save us all.”

Watch a video to meet Joseph and learn more about the community.

If you or someone you know is a veteran and is interested in learning more about Habitat SKC’s homeownership program, visit their website here.

By Joanna Gangi, Equity and Community Engagement Specialist