A place to call his own

By DEVIN HEILMAN

Staff Writer

POST FALLS — Where others see tree stumps and dry grass, Nathan Smalley sees his future.

"This is my turn," Smalley said, surveying the small patch of land. "This is my chance."

The Special Olympian, who earned gold and silver medals in skiing during the World Winter Games in Austria in March, is eagerly awaiting the completion of his very own home. With the help of Habitat for Humanity, he won't be waiting much longer.

“I’m getting a little tired of not being able to do anything because I’m stuck inside and can’t enjoy the outdoors without neighbors being nosy," said Smalley, who has lived in an apartment in Coeur d'Alene for four years. "In a complex, you’re constantly hearing other neighbors."

Smalley first applied for housing with Habitat in 2013, but was not eligible for the program at that time. This was a minor setback for Smalley, who was determined to reach his goal of being an independent homeowner.

"For him to be able to regroup and be aware that Habitat had programs that he could possibly qualify for is pretty phenomenal,” said Marty Gustafson, a volunteer and mentor with Habitat. “He’s really done a good job and followed up making the changes he needed to get the income that would qualify him for a home."

He's been busy putting aside money from his job as a maintenance worker, conducting "sweat equity" to help the project along and completing the necessary paperwork. His process has been in the works since February 2016.

"There’s a lot of work we put people through,” said James Casper, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of North Idaho. “They have to do hours every month or every quarter, we make them do training, we make them learn through building other people’s homes or through classes how to do maintenance. We really try to make that process to prepare you to be a homeowner. But at the same time, Nathan’s got a job, he’s busy and those burdens exist that whole year and a half that aren't easy to get through. Nathan might tell you that.”

The community is invited to celebrate this milestone with Smalley during the groundbreaking ceremony. It will take place Monday at 10 a.m. on the property of Smalley's future home at 102 W. Warner Road in Post Falls.

Smalley said he's looking forward to celebrating by watching football, playing some PlayStation and getting to know his neighbors. He said he can't wait to finally have a garage where he will tinker on cars.

“He has mechanical talent and wants to work things," Gustafson said. "Having a garage was really important to Nathan.”

The one-story, roughly 1,000-square-foot home is expected to be finished by winter. It will be built with the assistance of volunteers and students from Kootenai Technical Education Campus (KTEC).

When it's complete, Smalley will have a place to hang his skis and medals as well as a new gift of independence.

"As the old saying goes, ‘If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish almost anything,’” he said. "It’s like my brother told me, you could be at the bottom of the stairs and keep talking about it, but the more you talk about it you’re not going to climb those stairs. You’re not going to get anywhere."

“We are very proud of him for committing to that and fulfilling all those things with everything else he has going on in his life," Casper said. "It’s an impressive thing to get through this program that we put people through."