Building upon legacy
Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity marks 30 years of ministry
The neighborhood is abuzz this afternoon, families out walking in groups, children’s laughter floating over from the playground, and the sun intermittently breaking through the cloud cover to bathe everything in a dazzling light.
“Hi, Ann, how’s it going?” calls a man walking past with his dog.
Ann Felton Gilliland breaks out in a genuine smile. “It’s going great,” she replies.
This neighborhood, the Stephen Florentz Legacy Estates addition in northwest Oklahoma City, is the third one Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity has developed.
It carries the name of a decorated helicopter medic who served in Vietnam and in Operation Desert Storm. He died in 2016, leaving his own home and $2.25 million to Habitat, the largest single gift in its history.
For Felton Gilliland, Central Oklahoma
Habitat’s CEO, chairman — and its most recognizable public face for almost all of its 30 years — that chance encounter in the neighborhood underscores the extent of Habitat’s work.
“I love it,” she said. “Coming here on the weekends and seeing the kids playing in the park, riding bicycles on the street, playing basketball or roller-skating on the sidewalk.”
Just the kids being able to play outside at all marks a massive shift for the families who move here.
“So many of our families come from unsafe, unsavory areas where children could not play in their front yard,” she said. “So that’s the really fun part for me, coming out and seeing all the kids playing and having a good time.”
Central Oklahoma Habitat got its start in 1987, about a decade after the Christian charity homebuilder Habitat for Humanity International brought the concept of “partnership housing” to the United States from the mission fields in Africa.
First located at 3017 N Martin Luther King Ave., the organization was incorporated Dec. 31, 1986, by Dr. Joel Baker, of Edmond’s First Presbyterian Church, the Rev. DeWitt Roland of Spencer’s St. Luke Baptist Church, and the Rev. James DeFriend, of Trinity Presbyterian Church, 2301 NE 23. Baker and Roland served as the first chairmen.
Potential homeowners go through a rigorous vetting to qualify, and once they do, they’re still required to invest 300 hours of “sweat equity” in their home, attend financial management classes and attend Homeowners College.
Once they do, they’re able to buy their home for the cost of the construction with a no-interest mortgage.
‘A great blessing’
Felton Gilliland has been involved with Habitat for 27 of its 30 years, recruited by a friend in 1990 to serve on its board. When she started, the Habitat office was in the basement of Second Presbyterian Mission at NW 9 and McKinley Avenue. Now, the offices, workshops and ware- house are at 5005 S Interstate 35 Service Road.
“I never really intended to stay this long,” she said. “I told them I’d help for a couple of years with finance and fundraising because they were just getting started. But then I started meeting the families, and I’ve just been hooked ever since.”
Originally, Habitat built serviceable but plain frame homes with a storage shed in the backyard, no garage.
But that changed in May 1999 after multiple super-cell tornadoes tore through Central Oklahoma and flattened entire neighborhoods. Central Oklahoma Habitat moved in afterward to help families rebuild their homes.
“We were building in areas where the houses were all brick and twocar garages,” Felton Gilliland said. “So at that point in time, if we were really going to be able to go in and help these families, we decided we needed to do that, too.”
Habitat now channels the energy of volunteers into building affordable homes across a wide swath of Central Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City, Mulhall, Mustang and Carney. But Felton Gilliland is still looking ahead.
“We’d like to find a piece of land to develop, so I’m looking right now for land,” she said. “We build about 45 houses a year, but we’d like to get that up to 60 at some point. So that’s what our long-term goal is, 60. There’s a real need in the community for affordable housing.”
But it’s not just the housing that’s affordable.
“We’re one of the most energy-efficient builders in the state,” Felton Gilliland said. “So not only do our homeowners enjoy interest-free mortgage, but their utilities are about half of what they would be otherwise.”
Then factor in Class 4 impact shingles, which normally shaves 29 percent to 30 percent off homeowners insurance. Possibilities begin to emerge.
“I know with just a little bit of help, it really makes a difference,” Felton Gilliland said. “A lot of our single moms have gone back to school and gotten their degrees. So getting into our program really frees up money for the families because often as not, their house payment turns out to be less than what they were paying in rent.”
Felton Gilliland attends every home dedication, handing over the keys and a Bible to new homeowners. It serves as a touchstone, a reminder of who and what makes the work worthwhile.
“It’s just been a real spiritual journey for me,” she said. “I mean, I have the opportunity now to put my Christian faith to work every day, working with families, and it’s just been a great blessing in my life, to have the opportunity to do that.”