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LEHI — A family of seven will soon have a new place to call their home, as women from throughout the county gathered Saturday to start from the ground up.
The soon-to-be five-bedroom home, located at 47 N. 200 West in Lehi, will take about six months to complete and is being built by the Habitat for Humanity of Utah County for Roberta and Armando Sandoval and their five children.
The organization aims to help more families afford a home.
"There is a great need," said Kena Mathews, executive director of the organization's local chapter. She said women can be particularly helpful when they know the issues surrounding affordable housing in their communities, especially concerning homes for women and children.
"There's issues in the community and they can help with those issues," Mathews said.
During the week leading up to Mother's Day each year, Habitat for Humanity empowers women across the country to get involved in building with National Women Build Week. In its 11 years, the organization has brought together more than 117,000 female construction volunteers to build and repair more than 4,500 American homes.
Their work is largely sponsored by Lowe's, which donated nearly $2 million this year in support of the 2018 National Women Build Week. Women volunteers are helping to build a complete home in Springville, as well.
Mathews said that in addition to awareness of the issues, building a home gives women who volunteer a different skill set.
"Oftentimes, women are afraid to be on a build site, they're kind of leery using power tools," Mathews said, adding that she has learned much about home-building in the process of accommodating various families throughout the community.
For more information on the local efforts of Habitat for Humanity or to volunteer with the Utah County chapter, visit habitatuc.org.
