Gray said she decided to apply for a house after giving the idea some consideration and trying to decide what would be best to do on her single-parent income. She said it was something she thought about for a few years before she actually applied. At the time, Gray said she was working part-time but did not qualify for a house. She said during the two years she was denied, she felt discouraged, but something told her not to give up and it would work out. 
And she was right. After two more tries and a full-time job, she was successful. Gray said she and her sons were very happy when they received the news. At first, she said she could not pick a single aspect of her new home she liked above everything else, but one thing does stand out now.
“It’s something that I am paying for that is mine,” Gray said. “That is what I love about this house the most.”
Gray said she has had a lot of support, not only from her family, but from the community, as well. People recognize her and tell her how happy they are for her, she said. It still catches her off guard, but she said it is a good feeling. 
Gray was also involved in the building of the house, as are all people chosen for Habitat for Humanity homes. Peggy Branch, office manager for the Starkville Area Habitat for Humanity, said once a family is selected, it must complete 300 sweat hours where they work on their future home. Gray said during her time spent working, she really came to enjoy the work and being with the other volunteers. She has plans to help with the next house which will be built one street over from her residence, she said.
Sweat hours are just one of the requirements a family must complete, Branch said. Having children is not a requirement, but Branch said Habitat usually selects families with children so it can help more than one generation. For applicants to be considered, she said they must have lived in the Starkville area for one year, make at least $1,250 a month to be able to pay the $330 monthly mortgage payment, take three courses at the Emerson Family Center, one of which must be a financial management class and have credit indicating the applicants make payments on a bill even if his or her credit is not perfect.
“[When an applicant does not meet a requirement], we try and work with them and tell them why [they] weren’t selected,” Branch said. “They understand once we explain it to them and they try to work on the areas they need to so they can apply again.”
If a family fails to make payments after moving into the house, Habitat is required to foreclose after three months, except for rare cases such as someone losing a job, however, this does not happen often, Branch said.
April Heiselt, service-learning coordinator for MSU Leadership Programs, said another obligation families have upon being selected is to talk to media about their new homes.
Branch said the Starkville Area Habitat for Humanity builds two houses a year, one in the spring and one in the fall.
Spring houses begin in March and fall houses in August. The Maroon Volunteer Center helps contribute to the fall house. The latest house to be built was finished in record time thanks to the MSU volunteers, she said. Spring houses are completed with the help of Habitat’s Collegiate Challenge program where students from other states use their spring breaks as a time of service.  Supplies to build the houses come from companies donating directly to Habitat. The land for the houses is also donated, Branch said. 
Heiselt said building a house through the program generally costs about $60,000 for a 3- or 4-bedroom house. The house most recently built for the Gray family is handicap accessible to accommodate Gray’s oldest son who has muscular dystrophy, so it is slightly different than most. 
Heiselt is currently nominated for a Mid South Do-Gooder Award. If she wins, she said Habitat will receive a grant of $50,000 to go toward the building of another home. To get the last $10,000, Habitat receives donations in a few forms from the community, she said.
“It’s a community effort,” Heiselt said. “We’re not just building a house for people, but we’re providing them a home.”