Indianapolis homeowner reflects on “blessing” a year later, welcomes new neighbor
Photo: Katy Arnold (right) during the construction of her home in September of 2024.
Indianapolis homeowner reflects on “blessing” a year later, welcomes new neighbor
INDIANAPOLIS — Last September, Katy Arnold and her three children not only received the keys to a new Fuller Center home in the Haughville neighborhood of west Indy, but those keys also opened the door to new lives.
Their house was built next door to another Fuller Center home built a year earlier — for Holly Stultz, one of Arnold’s co-workers at the nearby Hawthorne Community Center, which has been helping families in the area meet basic needs and develop skills to develop autonomy and self-sufficiency. It has been helping families for more than a century.
This week, a third Fuller Center home began to take shape in their little corner of Haughville, a community that had seen decades of decline but is now coming back — and The Fuller Center for Housing of Central Indiana has played a major role in that resurrection just as it has in other parts of Indianapolis, such as the Fountain Square neighborhood. A mother of one, Brittany Mitchell is the homeowner partner for this third annual build that began this past Saturday with the assembly of walls in the parking lot of Chapel Rock Christian Church. After just a few days of building this week, it’s already looking like a home instead of a construction project.
“I wasn’t there for the wall build, but seeing the frame being put up, it just brings back a lot of memories and makes me happy for Brittany,” Arnold said. “I feel like I’m putting my feet in her shoes, and I’m super excited for her. It’s really cool to see them back and building another house.”
Arnold knows that it will be a year of transformation for her soon-to-be new neighbor and the start of a new life. She and her children are still getting used to the realization that they are homeowners with stability and financial security, but she rests easy knowing that studies show that children who grow in a decent home are often happier, healthier and have better educational outcomes than those who do not.
“Oh, it’s been great,” she said of the past year. “It’s kind of like a new house comes with a new set of rules. The kids are still getting used to the chores and cleaning up after themselves. It’s just been great. They’re just finally getting adjusted to it. It’s been a really big blessing to have.”
Like all Fuller Center homeowner partners, Arnold makes zero-percent-interest mortgage payments to repay the costs of building her home. Because so much of the materials were donated and because most of the work was done by volunteers, those payments are far less than she would pay to rent a one-bedroom apartment — even with taxes and insurance included.
“It allows you to breathe, to just be alive and breathe and not have to worry and stress about rent and housing,” she said. “It’s really high and only going to get higher, and I can’t imagine paying $2,000 to rent a house that you don’t even own.”
As empowering as homeownership has been for Arnold, though, it’s just important to see the entire Haughville neighborhood continuing to grow and develop — especially where her mini-neighborhood of Fuller homes is thriving.
“I’m pretty excited because I know her a little bit, and Holly’s right next to me, too,” she said. “We can do little gatherings and cookouts and stuff and dinners or game nights. This is great.”
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