“You did it, Lillie,” were the words chanted by family members and friends Saturday as a Habitat for Humanity home recipient cut the ribbon at her new home.

“I am blessed,” Lillie Jones said. “I’ve been waiting for this day to come.”

The program

Open enrollment for a Habitat for Humanity home is set for November.

Applicants must:

• Attend a Habitat for Humanity orientation

• Submit an application

• Complete an interview

• Receive a visit from the Family Selection Committee

For information, call the office at 601-634-6633, Abraham Green at 601-218-1355 or e-mail.

The dedication was the second of four scheduled this year by the Warren County Habitat for Humanity, which, like its counterparts nationwide, works with low-income families to build homes with materials and labor, much of which is donated.

New homeowners also potentially qualify for first-time homebuyers grants and no-interest loans.

Jones, who works for the Community Council of Warren County, said she is looking forward to a party to show off the remodeled 1,000-square-foot, two-bedroom home at 206 Winters Lane, a block off of North Washington Street.

She moved into the home with her two sons, Ed, 18, and Warren, 17, in September, but scheduling conflicts delayed the ceremony.

“I’m just glad for it to be our own home,” said Ed, a senior and football player at Warren Central High School. Warren is a junior at the same school.

Abraham Green, executive director of the Warren County chapter, said about 15 community volunteers from Warren Central High School’s Red Cord Service group and the Kappa League of the Kappa Alpha Psi collegiate fraternity, helped complete the remodeling project in four months.

He said, however, the number of volunteers is down this year, delaying two other home dedications.

“Hopefully, we’re going to get those in a few weeks,” he said.

On Saturday, the Joneses were surrounded by family members, friends and organization volunteers, each of whom had some heartfelt words to pass along.

“We went through a tremendous amount of anguish to get to this day,” North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield said in his dedication speech. “We finally made it and signed on the dotted line.”

The Joneses’ previous home, also in Kings, was 50 percent damaged by flooding last year, qualifying it for a City of Vicksburg flood buyout program.

The new home, which Jones said cost about $60,000, was previously a Habitat home whose owner died. Four other Habitat homes are on the same block.

The road to obtaining a home through Habitat started two years ago for Jones.

“I filled out an application and had to go through a program about homebuying,” she said. After, she was visited by the Family Selection Committee.

Green said a family’s screening process includes proof of an applicant’s steady income, willingness to work and substantial need.

They also must pass a credit check. “We don’t set a family up for failure,” he said.

Green also said the organization focuses on about 50 percent of the medium income range for each particular area.

In Jones’ area, medium income is about $50,000 a year per family.

The next home dedication will be for Towanna Anderson and her son on Stadium Drive, where two Habitat homes were built in May.

The family moved into the house in August.

Open application enrollment for new home recipients will begin in November, when an orientation and a qualifications meeting will be held.

Warren County Habitat for Humanity has completed 21 houses since 1991.

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Contact Manivanh Chanprasith at mchan@vicksburgpost.com