Vernon Peterson became a friend of Loudoun Habitat for Humanity’s management and volunteers when they built their first single-family home in St. Louis in 2008, said Pamela McGraw, president of Loudoun Habitat for Humanity.
“When we were building the home on that first parcel, we got to know [Vernon Peterson] quite well,” McGraw said. “We actually knew him even before the tragedy that occurred with Erin. But shortly after that, when we realized that she was his granddaughter, we decided to name the project after her.”
The 3.2-acre Erin Peterson Subdivision will include four single-family homes. Habitat has already identified one family — a single mother with three children — to live in one of the houses, McGraw said.
Celeste Peterson, Erin’s mother, said the family was touched to have the project named for her daughter. She described her only daughter as an old soul who always made time to support and encourage others: She was studying international relations at Virginia Tech with the goal of working for a nonprofit organization after graduation, her mother said.
“She wanted to figure out solutions to help people in impoverished areas,” she said. “I remember after Hurricane Katrina, Erin wanted to go down there. I said, ‘Erin, can’t we just sent a donation?’ And she looked at me and said no. She wanted her boots on the ground. She wanted to help. If it hadn’t been for school, she would have gone.”
The families that will live in the Erin Peterson Subdivision will carry on her hardworking legacy, McGraw said. To qualify for Habitat for Humanity housing, families must have a documented housing need and be income-qualified, meaning they are required to earn within from 30 to 50 percent of the average median income for Loudoun County. They must be able to afford low, interest-free mortgage payments on the home, although Habitat targets families that could not qualify for a conventional mortgage, McGraw said.
They also have to be willing to help build their home, she said, an investment referred to as “sweat equity.”
“They go out to the site, they build right alongside the volunteers, and they must contribute 350 hours,” McGraw said. “It encourages the volunteers, who give up their own time, and it teaches the partner family how to maintain their home. It gives them a vested interest in that property.”
Celeste Peterson said she has no doubt that her daughter would have been thrilled about the project and eager to volunteer.
“It’s a fabulous fit for her. She would have been out there helping. She would have been able to get all her friends to come with her too,” Peterson said. “She was good at that.”
After her death, her family created the Erin Peterson Fund, which has awarded more than 20 scholarships, ranging from $500 to $2,000, and supports other nonprofit organizations with grants, Peterson said.
Finding ways to continue Erin Peterson’s legacy, through the scholarship fund and projects such as the Loudoun Habitat for Humanity subdivision, “helps with the grief,” Peterson said.
“Other kids are moving on,” she said. “She’ll be 18 forever . . . but I can only hope that my life has half as much impact as hers did, even in the small time that she was here.”
Construction on the Erin Peterson Subdivision will begin this month, with the goal of having the four homes completed within a year, McGraw said.
Celeste and Vernon Peterson plan to speak at the groundbreaking ceremony, which will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Peterson Court in St. Louis.
“One time I told Erin, ‘You know, we can’t help everybody,’ ” Celeste Peterson said. “Her only response was: ‘Why not?’ ”
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