A teary, emotional key ceremony marked their entrance into the hallowed halls of home ownership.

Six families and helpers chipped in a staggering 15,000 hours of manual labor constructing their homes, all the while holding down their normal jobs and caring for their children.

“Anybody who is willing to do that in addition to their real job – I just have to hand it to them,” said Homes for Islanders (HFI) president John Campbell. “I wish you many years of happiness in your new homes.”

Thus was christened yet another Homes for Islanders affordable housing development built with the help of USDA loans, hard-earned sweat equity and the labor of roughly 150 volunteers.

North Beach Gardens is a six-home development built on Shady Lane in the North Beach neighborhood. A key strength of the program is that down payments are not required, and the homeowners don’t begin paying a mortgages until they move in, allowing them to pay rent during the building process.

Proud new homeowners include Nancy Brown, Dan Vierthaler, Renee Sturk, Antonio Zapeta and Bernice Arevalo; Bonnie Mahony; and John B. Howard.

“This has been our lives for 15 months,” said Mahony. “No breaks, no vacation, no time off; we are kind of in shock that it’s over.”

Mahony thanked her parents for their support with babysitting, adding, “Each family has two or three people who helped out in a major way throughout the process… we are truly grateful.”

“I want to thank everybody that has made it possible for us to have a home,” said Zapeta.

“I went from living in six homeless shelters and on people’s couches to owning a beautiful house on Orcas Island!” Sturk said. “Affordable housing is pivotal for the long-term strength of the island,” she added, saying the new homeowners include a construction worker, a firefighter, a teacher and others who provide essential services.

There are now 39 HFI homes in San Juan County, with another 31 in the works in Friday Harbor. Interestingly, only 14 of those homes are here on Orcas – and the Orcas waiting list is empty, said Campbell.

“We kind of wonder, has anybody with any spunk on Orcas already got a home?” asked Campbell. He said they would like to see another project here on Orcas, and if he hears from interested families, “we’ll find a way to do it, USDA loan or no.”

Campbell told the Sounder the HFI program is not slated to be funded next year.

“It could be put back in the budget, but it’s looking very doubtful,” he said, adding that there are other ways to find funding. “Self-help is a very cost-effective activity; it’s so cost effective it would be crazy to let it drop.”

Campbell encouraged anybody interested in building a home through the program to contact HFI at 370-5944.