Family of 4 gets new Greensburg home for the holidays, with help from Habitat for Humanity

Holly Kunicki is looking forward to gathering her three kids for a night of home entertainment now that they’re set to move into their own new home in Greensburg.

“We’ll probably have a movie night in the living room. We have a three-bedroom apartment now, so this is a lot better,” Kunicki said Friday as the family took possession of their two-story house on Harrison Avenue.

A ceremony to hand over the front door keys brought to fruition the latest project of Central Westmoreland Habitat for Humanity.

Youngest daughter Paisley, 7, was jumping with excitement during Friday’s event. She’s been rooming with her mom in the family’s Vandergrift apartment, but now Kunicki and her children each have their own bedroom.

“(Paisley) bought a Christmas tree and wants to put it up in her room,” Kunicki said. “This is just in time for the holidays.”

Executive Director Courtney Guerrieri said the Habitat chapter also was eagerly awaiting completion of the Kunicki’s home, built with the help of volunteer labor on a bare site once occupied by two houses.

”This is a very exciting day for us,” Guerrieri said. “It’s been a long process, for sure.”

The nonprofit acquired the property in 2017, she said, but work on the new home was suspended when the covid-19 pandemic arrived.

“In late 2020, we got the OK to pick it back up,” Guerrieri said.

The Habitat chapter serves all of Westmoreland except for the northwestern tip of the county. Since forming in 1993, it has turned over more than 30 homes — either renovated or newly constructed — to families in need of an affordable dwelling.

Kunicki works in registration at Independence Health Westmoreland Hospital and as a personal care aide for a health care staffing firm.

“We’re very anxious to get moved in,” she said of her family’s new Greensburg address. “I’ve been waiting for this day.”

The new home offers about 1,500 square feet of space including two bathrooms. It represents an investment of about $250,000, according to Guerrieri.

“We do a lot of work ourselves,” she said. “That saves with a lot of our costs.”

In addition to partnerships with area contractors and building supply providers, the nonprofit called upon a number of volunteers to get the Greensburg home finished.

Among those pitching in were students from Southmoreland High School and members of the Seton Hill University football and soccer teams.

“The really put forth the effort,” Guerrieri said. “There are a lot of really good kids who care and want to help. It will give you hope for our future.”

John Shelapinsky of Salem and Dan Dopirak of North Huntingdon were among skilled retirees who provided volunteer labor.

Shelapinsky has practiced as an attorney and taught paralegal and business law courses at Westmoreland County Community College. He has been a Habitat volunteer for about eight years.

“I have skills I learned from my father, and I wanted to help people,” he said.

He spent several hundred hours helping to prepare the new Greensburg home, many of them working in tandem with Dopirak. Tasks included hanging drywall and installing flooring.

The most challenging part, he said: “Working in the semi-dark in January and February when there was no heat or water.”

“Between us, we make a good carpenter,” joked Dopirak, a six-year Habitat volunteer who owned a tuxedo rental shop and more recently supervised the men’s department of a local department store.

“It’s a great thing to see the family walk in with smiles on their faces,” he said. “You know you did something right.”

Dopirak said he enjoyed plumbing and electrical work at the Greensburg house, but not painting chores.

Painting was part of the 100 hours of sweat equity the Kunicki family was required to complete during the construction, a job that didn’t faze eldest daughter, Kaylie Peace, 16.

“She was our star painter,” said her mom.

Brother Shawn Peace, 15, filled nail holes in the home’s walls and helped with mowing and weeding the lawn.

The siblings were pleased with the end results of everybody’s work.

“We love it,” Kaylie said. “It’s so pretty!”

To complete another 250 hours of required sweat equity, Holly Kunicki said she may volunteer in the Habitat chapter’s resale store or help with the nonprofit’s next project. She’ll also be responsible for mortgage payments on her new home.

“It’s an affordable mortgage that they can pay on a monthly basis,” Guerrieri said.

The Habitat chapter has a list of more than 30 other applicants who are waiting for homes of their own.

“The need is great,” said Guerrieri. “Unfortunately, it takes quite a while to build a home. We do have some prospects on new homes we will be looking to build.”

The nonprofit has possession of two lots on Cromwell Street in Grapeville for an upcoming home build.

Kunicki’s family will have a little farther to travel this year to spend the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays with her parents in Apollo.

“They have the bigger space,” Kunicki said.

Still, with two stories to spread out in on Harrison Avenue, she said, “Maybe we can have Christmas Eve here.”

Visit cwhfh.org for more information about the local Habitat chapter.