By Lois Rogers | Correspondent

For Ines Tello and her sons Jonathan and Josuha, a dream 17 years in the making, of a house that will offer them some breathing space, is about to come true.

Since April 27, a “blitz build” by scores of volunteers of the “faith collaborative” forged by Colts Neck Reformed Church, St. Rose of Lima Parish, Freehold and Habitat for Humanity in Monmouth County to raise that house from the ground up has been underway.

The build comes after months of planning, fundraising and coordination from the team led by St. Rose of Lima parishioner James Wishbow who is the general contractor.

By late summer, mother and sons will be able to move into a one-story, three bedroom, single family home on Center Street in Freehold. When the family makes that move, the young men, for the first time, will have their own rooms in the 1,300-square-foot house. That’s been a key priority for the family which has been squeezed into a small apartment in Ocean Township for well over a decade.

At a festive pasta luncheon fundraiser May 3 in the St. Rose of Lima School gymnasium attended by more than 100 supporters, Ines Tello described how she first reached out to Habitat for Humanity years ago – “when Jonathan was seven years old. He’s 27 now” – without success.

Last year, she tried again, sending in a new application. They were selected from a group of almost 50 applicants based on their need for safe and affordable housing and first-time buyer status. As part of their partnership with Habitat, the Tello family is completing the required “sweat equity” as they work side-by-side with volunteers as the home goes up.

The smiling mom, who works long shifts as a monitor technician in Red Bank’s Monmouth Medical Center, shared photos of the family at the construction site. “We feel so blessed that this has happened to us and we are so grateful for so many wonderful people who have helped,” she said.

Since March when the family learned they’d been selected as the affiliate’s newest partner family, the excitement and anticipation has been building, they said.

HHMC, which serves Northeast and Western Monmouth County is a local affiliate of the international, non-governmental, non-profit organization that brings people together to build affordable housing to helps low-income families achieve their dream of home ownership.

Currently HHMC works with 83 percent – 42 of the county’s 53 towns and municipalities – in a wide geographic area that embraces Allentown to the west; Atlantic Highlands and Union Beach on the Bayshore; Long Branch on the Atlantic Ocean,and Howell that stretches to the border of Ocean County.

The aim is to develop good affordable housing that can help low-income families achieve their goal of home ownership.

The effort has resulted in the building of 44 new homes and assisted more than 90 families in Superstorm Sandy related projects in Monmouth County.

Affiliates and national offices coordinate all aspects of home building in their local area including fundraising, site selection, partner family selection, support, house construction and mortgage servicing.

According to a release, Colts Neck Reformed Church has a longstanding relationship with Habitat for over a decade and was recently recognized as an honoree at Habitat’s annual golf outing.

In a release, Nancy Doran, HHMC’s president, noted that St. Rose of Lima Parish has also been a generous community and faith partner. She called it a blessing that “not one but two faith communities committed to helping us fulfill our mission,” to raise up the house for the Tellos. “This partnership is truly a testament to our goal of bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope.”

St. Rose of Lima pastor, Father James A. Conover, struck the same chord as the pasta fundraiser was drawing to a close. It was the first time, he noted, that the parish had joined the building effort and he could see it happening again.

Working with Colts Neck Reformed Church and all of the volunteers from both congregations and members of the community was a wonderful, inspiring experience, he said. He noted that St. Rose of Lima had joined the project well after Colts Neck came on board.

“We had to do some fast fundraising,” he said, but we would do it again. He had special praise for all the volunteers, including the Knights of Columbus Council, who contributed so many hours and so much service and spoke warmly of parishioner Wishbow, who has steered the project from the beginning.

For his part, Wishbow, in an earlier interview, bestowed high praise on Father Conover saying that discussion on parish involvement in the Habitat building process had been “kicked around” for several years.

“But Father Conover jumped on this project and it is great. This is all about community,” Wishbow said. “It’s a great thing for St. Rose of Lima and For Colts Neck Reformed. It’s a great thing for everyone.”