TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

DELANO -- First, Violet Casillas noticed a musty smell in her Delano apartment.

Then there was a bubble in the ceiling. She and her husband, Juan, came home from visiting family members to find the ceiling had collapsed in the hallway and in one of their apartment's two bedrooms.

There was also the mold, on the windows where their children slept and masked by layers of paint in the bathroom.

"(The landlady) was like, 'Paint kills mold.' I was like, 'I don't think so,'" Casillas said.

Next came the fleas that made the Casillas family itch whenever they sat on the furniture. To top it off, termites plagued the apartment.

But the Casillas and their two children, 2-year-old Juan and 1-year-old Nathaniel, will spend their holidays in far nicer surroundings than their previous residence. The Casillases are one of seven Delano families living in newly rehabilitated homes thanks to Habitat for Humanity.

Close to 70 families applied for the seven homes, according to Max Hernandez, associate director for Habitat for Humanity-Golden Empire. Families chosen for the homes had to put in 500 hours of "sweat equity" and received 30-year zero interest mortgages.

Hernandez visited the Casillas family's old apartment with selection committee members, and feared for the family's health.

"There was definitely the need there," Hernandez said.

Casillas, a stay-at-home mom, was overcome by "tears of joy" in June when she learned her family was chosen for one of Habitat's homes in this, a milestone year for the local Habitat group.

"I screamed. I cried. I screamed some more," she said.

The family moved into their two-bedroom rehabilitated house on Austin Street three weeks ago, filling it with furniture from relatives. On Wednesday, as a turkey and ham defrosted in a rust-free sink for Thanksgiving, Casillas pointed out the improvements she and her husband helped make to the home.

On Thursday, relatives will celebrate the holiday at the family's new digs instead of at a park like they usually do.

The home will "dramatically" change the family's future, Violet Casillas said, breaking the cycle of constant moving that she and Juan grew up with. Their children will have a stable place to call home and can stay at the same schools as they grow.

"We are the first in both of our families to become home owners," Casillas said.

A milestone year

The local Habitat for Humanity affiliate also had lots to celebrate in 2011. This year is Habitat for Humanity-Golden Empire's 20th anniversary and the non-profit finished its 50th house this fall. While donations are down by at least half, according to the organization's executive director, that didn't stop the non-profit from completing rehabilitation on the seven houses.

Dennis Wallace, executive director of the local affiliate, said the Delano project was the non-profit's biggest undertaking yet. The revamped buildings gave 28 children and 13 adults a place to call home.

"This has been a milestone year for Habitat," Wallace said.

Wallace said Habitat has moved toward rehabilitating homes rather than building from scratch because it's cheaper. Building fees alone can add up before a shovel even breaks ground on a new home.

"It's a lot more cost-effective to buy a foreclosed and abandoned home," Wallace said. "We picked up our first rehab in 2009. We saw the writing on the wall."

The trend is consistent in Habitat affiliates throughout the country, according to Sue Henderson, vice president of U.S. operations for Habitat for Humanity International. The non-profit rehabilitated 3 percent more homes in 2009 than 2008, and 29 percent more the next year.

"The rehabs are on the strong uptick but our overall new home construction is also on the increase," Henderson said.

The trend toward revamping homes coincided with the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which gave grants through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"It provided a source of funding for a focus on foreclosed, vacant or abandon properties," Henderson said.

Such was the case with Elvira Ledesma's home on Clinton Street. The house was an unkept eyesore with an overgrown tree eclipsing the yard, Ledesma said neighbors told her. Now, there's grass in the yard and carpet covering damaged hardwood floors inside.

"I love the color. It looks like a big cup of coffee," Ledesma said, standing in her yard Wednesday.

Ledesma lived in a low-income apartment with her 18-year-old son, Fabian Ledesma, and her 13-year-old daughter, Breena Gonzalez, before she was picked for the three-bedroom Habitat house.

Elvira Ledesma, a lottery clerk, worked this summer on the house and the six other Habitat homes during the day and went to work in the afternoon. Fabian, who graduated from Delano High School this year, spent his first months out of school drywalling and pitching in on the homes. She and Fabian recalled toiling to knock out cement and tile from one home's bathroom and hours of painting.

"That was my life for the summer," Fabian said. "I would do it over and over again."

The family reveled in their new home Wednesday afternoon as they prepared to host relatives for Thanksgiving. Breena showed off her bedroom walls plastered with Justin Bieber posters. Fabian said he loves having a lawn to manicure.

Elvira is still in shock even though the family moved in about two weeks ago.

"I can't believe that I come here every night when I come home," she said.