MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Demetria Primas’ years of searching are finally over.

On Monday, the local mother of two will look on as officials from Milledgeville’s Habitat for Humanity branch break ground on what will soon become a brand new home for her and her family. For Primas, her 3-year-old son Gavin, and her 8-month-old daughter, Ava, the new house will mean being able to move from out of the home of her sister and into a viable long-term living option. Monday’s groundbreaking, which coincides with the organization’s World Habitat Day, will mark the first Habitat home built in Baldwin County in eight years, effectively signaling the end of the 2008-09 recession’s disastrous economic effects. Much excitement has been brewing for the Milledgeville Habitat’s rejuvenation, but perhaps none in the community are more excited than Primas herself; upon hearing the news that she had completed the process to be approved for a home, the mother of two could barely believe her ears.

“I was overwhelmed,” she said of the moment she heard the news. “I actually had to hear it twice because I really didn’t know if it had happened, but I was filled with joy. It will mean stability and a loving home, because my mother provided that for me and my sister and brother as I was growing up, and helped me become who I am today, so I feel excited that I get to provide that for my children.”

Indeed, for the Primas family, the news had been a long time coming. About a year and a half ago, Primas was working as a forensic services technician helping to care for patients in the Cook Building of Central State Hospital when she learned she was pregnant with a second child. After moving her and her son in temporarily with her sister in anticipation of her daughter’s birth, Primas wanted to find a home that would be a viable long-term option for her and her family. For years she had searched unsuccessfully for a suitable home, until a coworker told her to put in an application to Habitat for Humanity.

“I had always known the name of Habitat, but I really didn’t understand the program until I had a chance to go down and speak with [Milledgeville Habitat Executive Director] Mr. Murali [Thirumal],” she said. “I was encouraged by a coworker from my job – she kind of explained it to me, but he really broke everything down.”

Primas’ story is not unlike those of countless other families in Baldwin County and around the world. For more than 30 years, the group worked with local contractors and volunteers to relocate and improve the lives of qualifying families around the world (a list which now includes more than 5 million people), until it was struck by the generational economic downturn of 2008.

“Just like the rest of the country and the rest of the world that crashed during the recession of 2008, Milledgeville Habitat also crashed,” said Thirumal, a meticulous and well-spoken Georgia College graduate. “Not only did we have the regular downturn that all other businesses and families had, but we were also in the housing business, which was what really precipitated the entire downturn. A lot of people didn’t recover from that, and we were fortunate to recover. We’ve served two families with [existing] homes in the last four years, and this will be our first new home build since 2008.”

As 2008 turned into 2009, Milledgeville’s Habitat was forced to watch as donations from increasingly cautious contractors dry up, even as the pool of applicants with enough income to qualify for the homes was being whittled away. Monday’s groundbreaking will mark a triumphant return for the group that has built and “recycled” 18 homes in Baldwin County since1994, and has created important community spaces and programs for countless others. As Habitat’s prospects grow out of the tail end of the recession, so too can families like the Primas’ take hope for the future once again.

“When we get into the new house, the first thing I’m going to do is have my family – my mom, my sister, my brother, and my niece and nephew – and we’re just going to pray,” Primas said. “We’re going to pray for it to be long-lasting, to keep the house up, and to have a loving and stable home.”

The Habitat for Humanity World Habitat Day Groundbreaking will take place this at 4 p.m. Monday at 2255 Leo Court. For information on applying and becoming a volunteer, visit www.milledgevillehabitat.org, or call their office at 478-453-9617.