(Radio Iowa) – Inmates at the state prison in Newton began building homes in 2019 –and the program has reached a major milestone. The 150th modular home built on a 100-acre site inside the prison complex was delivered to Mason City this week. Melissa Schoneberg is executive director of Habitat for Humanity of North Central Iowa, the organization that received the nearly move-in-ready house. “All we have left to do now is to hook it up with the water and sewer and things like that, electrical, and then get the flooring and appliances in, a few touch-ups. It did go across the state, so there’s a few things they come and fix a little drywall, but it’s in awesome shape. A little dirty from the road, you know,” she said, laughing, “but other than that it’s going to be ready as soon as the homeowner gets her hours done, the sweat equity hours that they are required to do, and then we can get her in there.”

Iowa’s Department of Corrections and Prison Industries works with Habitat for Humanity programs throughout the state on the “Homes for Iowa” program. Schoenberg says it’s the first time one of the houses has been provided to her organization — which serves Cerro Gordo, Franklin, Hancock, Winnebago, and Wright Counties. “It’s wonderful because we typically do one to three houses a year, and right now we have 11 house projects going at the same time,” she says, “so this helps to fill the gap of one house for us to get done.” Schoneberg says there is a housing crisis in Iowa and this program is not only addressing it, but giving inmates at the Newton prison work skills they can use when they’re paroled.

“The cost of construction is so high now…It’s hard to find subcontractors that have time,” Schoneberg said. “With the Homes for Iowa program, they train people that are incarcerated job skills, so that they can become contractors and subcontractors when they get out of prison…and it also helps those prisoners to learn skills so they don’t go back into the system.”

So far, over 160 of the inmates who’ve gone through the program have become certified in one of the construction trades, like carpentry or welding. Each house built in the “Homes for Iowa” program has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The program has placed homes in more than 50 counties in the past five years.