Meet D'ante Mercer: Setting the Table, for Life

Habitat-Powhatan begins newest whole-house renovation

As self-designated head cook and baker in his family, D’ante Mercer truly doesn’t mind all the holiday meals and treats that he’ll be making over the next few weeks, from lemon crinkle cookies to cupcakes, all without traditional dairy.

“I love baking,” says Mercer, 29, who got hooked from required middle school home economic classes.  He recently created the family’s Thanksgiving feast, from turkey to pecan pie, for his three siblings, nephew and mother.

Between a severe food allergy to whey and the desire to bring his family together for birthdays and holidays, he is up for the challenge and is especially known for his specialty cakes.

And he’ll finally have a kitchen to call his very own by late spring because Mercer is Habitat for Humanity-Powhatan’s newest homeowner-to-be.

Mercer, who attended parts of middle school and all of high school in Powhatan, never experienced housing stability growing up, except for the home of his late great-grandmother Ruby — a home he visited often as a child. The current home he rents with his mother, who has a disability, has moisture and mold issues that are affecting them, he says.

“Owning a home will be life-changing for my family and me. We have never really had a steady place to live, and I would like to be the anchor point for my family to have a safe and steady place to come to,” says Mercer. “To be able to say, ‘I’m cooking and be here at 5 p.m.’”

Setting the table for his future, along with many meals and game nights to come, is what this Habitat house will bring.

 Mercer, a computer repair technician, has worked at Empowered PC here in Powhatan for 10 years. Through Habitat, he attended the Pathways to Homeownership class, qualified for an affordable monthly home mortgage payment and will contribute a total of 200 hours of time during the building process. He already has begun volunteering in the ReStore and helping our Critical Repair crew leaders. And he’s already imagining the garden he’ll create.

 “Owning a home was dream that I wasn’t sure I’d ever reach,” Mercer says.

Mercer’s house-to-be is the second whole-house renovation project taken on by Habitat. Habitat purchased a 1,000-square-foot, 1-bath home off Bell Road and will renovate it to create an open floorplan and will create a second bath from a laundry room.

“Habitat’s homeownership program is for those who have lived or worked in the county for a minimum of year before applying,” says Susan Winiecki, Habitat-Powhatan’s executive director. “They also must qualify for a loan with a minimum credit score of 640 and must demonstrate housing need.”

Helping Habitat with this effort is Cadence Architecture’s Mike Nonnennman and Class A Contractor Dustin Griffith of DPG Construction. Habitat volunteers started inside and outside demolition on Dec. 4 and will continue transforming the home through the spring.

Mercer, a relatively new member of Old Powhatan Baptist Church, shares that he’s been a Christian since his teens but recently rededicated his life to God. “I’m committed to following Him more closely and living with purpose. It has changed my entire life perspective, and I am much happier than I have ever been. He has brought me out of a dark place, and I cannot thank Him enough.”

And for Mercer, that also will mean always setting that extra place at his dining table in his new home for someone who may need a meal or a place to stay.

“I want to be that place where people can come and gather, especially if they have had a bad day and need a refuge. I want to be that for the next generation.”

Habitat seeks in-kind construction material gifts and discounted specialty trade work for this project and others. If you are interested in partnering with Habitat, please contact Christy Whitver, homeowner services director, at christyw@habitatpowhatan.org

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