The Pomona Valley Habitat for Humanity is accepting applications from military veterans for four affordable homes to be built by Habitat volunteers and construction specialists in Walnut, La Verne and Chino Hills.

Veteran families currently living in Chino, Chino Hills, Claremont, Covina, Diamond Bar, Glendora, La Puente, La Verne, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, San Dimas, Upland, Walnut and West Covina may apply. Application forms may be obtained by calling 909-596-7098.

Applicants living in Walnut and La Verne will be given first consideration for the individual houses built in those cities. If no eligible veteran family is found in these two cities, then the La Verne and Walnut houses will be available to other veterans living in the regional Habitat’s 16-city service area, said executive director Jody Gmeiner.

To participate in this program, applicants must first be a veteran of the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines or Navy.

“There must be need, ability to pay a mortgage and a desire to partner” with organizations and individuals in the community, Gmeiner said.

The family must be able to make a $2,500 payment towards closing costs, willing to work 250 or 500 sweat-equity hours on the house it will occupy as well as another house and attend mandatory home ownership workshops, she added.

Volunteers from the general community, churches, service clubs, businesses and local governments build the houses.

The Habitat program allows families to buy houses and fulfill their dreams of home ownership that could not be realized through traditional transactions, Gmeiner noted.

The four veteran houses will be built as part of the Pomona Valley Habitat’s “Salute To Service” campaign.

Groundbreaking for the first house in Walnut will be held in June. It will be a “green” house built as part of a collaborative effort by the Pomona Valley Habitat, Southern California Edison, Peninsula Publishing and the city of Walnut.

Volunteer architects are designing three other homes – one in La Verne and two in Chino Hills.

Habitat for Humanity International is a global nonprofit, ecumenical ministry founded by Millard Fuller in 1976 to eliminate poverty housing and build affordable homes for low- and moderate-income families. The Pomona Valley affiliate is one of 1,500 worldwide. The international organization has served four million families in 3,000 communities to date and operates in 70 countries.

The Pomona Valley affiliate, founded by Ted Woodson, has built affordable houses throughout the Inland and San Gabriel valleys. Several began construction during the L.A. County Fair and the houses were relocated to city sites later for finishing work and landscaping.

Info obtained from the Dailybulletin.com