Compiled by Speakin’ Out News
In a heartwarming event aimed at rejuvenating Selma, Alabama, a local family has been awarded a fully furnished home. This marks a significant step in the city’s recovery from the devastating 2023 tornado.
Fourteen women, all mothers with children enrolled in the Black Belt Community Foundation Head Start program, gathered on the porch of a newly constructed house, each hopeful to hear her name announced. As reported by AL.com, a key bearing each participant’s name was placed in a bingo cage, and when Desiree McGuire’s name was drawn, she was embraced by the other women as the crowd erupted in cheers. Anticipating the possibility, McGuire donned the heels she had brought along.
“It means hope, stability, and a better chance at life,” McGuire told AL.com. She and her three children—ages 4, 7, and 9—will soon move into the three-bedroom, two-bathroom residence designed to withstand future natural disasters.
This initiative is part of a collaborative effort involving the Black Belt Community Foundation, the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA), the Selma Housing Authority, and the city itself. Their collective goal is to construct 100 affordable homes to revitalize neighborhoods severely impacted by the tornado, which destroyed over 600 structures.
This marks the second home giveaway since April, with the first awarded to Tamicka Newberry, who lost her home in the tornado. Newberry, now McGuire’s neighbor, shared that her first year in the new house has been “amazing.”
The homes, priced at $169,500, are made more accessible through initiatives like allowing Section 8 housing vouchers to be applied toward homeownership. Additionally, families receive support, including free furnishings, the first year of insurance paid, and financial counseling to ensure sustainable homeownership.
Kennard Randolph, president of the Selma Housing Authority, emphasized the project’s broader impact. “This is the work that needs to be done, the work of not only giving away a home but transforming a family’s life,” he told AL.com. “This is an opportunity that some of these people may never have reached, but because of this moment, they will reach it.”
Selma has faced significant population decline and housing shortages over the years. Initiatives like this aim to reverse these trends by providing stable housing and fostering community growth. “Selma is on the rise; it will be great again.”