Standing on the porch of his new four bedroom home, Charles Boehm (who sometimes goes by “Chase”) laid his arm around Family Services Director Anna Danese as he sought the words to express his gratitude. As he looked out over the crowd of a few dozen volunteers, still muddy from their morning on the work site, he repeated his thanks to them and others like them who had made his dream of homeownership possible.

Chase Boehm and Lindsey Middlebush are the parents of three girls, Chloey Rei, Phoebe, and Adaline. They have been living in a cramped two-bedroom shotgun home as they have worked their way through the NOAHH program. To them, they said, the homeownership program has been the answer to their questions of how they were going to find the safety and comfort their growing family needed. After many long hours of sweat equity (some provided by Chloey Rey through her good grades), their dream has come true and their questions have been answered.

On Wednesday, June 11, they gathered with NOAHH staff and volunteers to dedicate their new home, sponsored by the Yoh Foundation, one of NOAHH’s partners from the 5th Anniversary Build-a-Thon. Their home dedication ceremony was attended by volunteers from longtime NOAHH partners RHINO and Greenwich Academy, both of whom have been working with NOAHH since the storm, making regular trips to the city. Despite eight years of volunteering, this was the first time they had attended a dedication! Six of their volunteers joined NOAHH in the ceremony, offering the traditional gifts to the homeowners.

The NOAHH program has always been a collaborative process, with the partner families working alongside volunteers and staff to make their dream come true. The Middlebush-Boehm family earned their new home through hard work and a willingness to partner, one of the cornerstones of the homeownership program, and today, they celebrated not just their new home, but also the support of partners like RHINO, Greenwich Academy, and the Yoh Foundation.