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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 13, 2005 Seven-year-old Raymond Harbour plays with puppies Angel and Oreo in the back-yard of his new home. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli For members of a needy local family, generosity yields A home of their own By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune In less than two months, Ray Harbour has gone from homeless to homeowner — and his mind is still reeling from the change. "We’ve always rented," said Harbour, a 36-year-old White City man. "I never thought of owning a home. I never thought I would." Indeed, back in July, Harbour, his wife and three kids worried about having housing of any kind. They were one of four families living in St. Vincent de Paul’s Medford homeless shelter when the agency closed its doors for construction. With affordable rentals scarce and subsidized housing lists full, the Harbours moved into a cheap motel and pondered their options, which were few. Then Gina Ing picked up the phone. Advertisement The Ashland woman, a former local public radio personality, didn’t know Ray Harbour or his clan. But when she read about them in the newspaper, something shifted. "I thought, there should be some way to help this family," she said. "I’m not a rich person, but thank goodness I found a way to help." Ing called her friend, real estate agent Colleen Pyke. She called a Washington Mutual bank loan officer in Ashland. She told them both she wanted to buy the Harbours a house. "I was very ill in 2003," explained Ing, who suffered from recurrence melanoma, an often fatal form of skin cancer. "People took care of me every day. People have been good to me all my life. I wanted to give something back." Using her retirement fund as collateral, Ing borrowed $50,000 for a down payment. Then she called Ray and Charlotte Harbour and told them to start looking for a place to live. "I agreed to rent the house to them with an option to buy," Ing said. "Just as soon as Ray and Charlotte can qualify for their own loan, the house will be theirs." For Ray, who moved 22 times in high school alone, the idea of a permanent place to live was unreal. "When she got the phone call, my wife started dancing in the parking lot," Ray Harbour recalled. "We were shocked. We weren’t expecting that." With the help of Pyke and Ing, the family searched for affordable neighborhoods in Medford. "There is no such thing as affordable housing," Ing declared. "We looked at three houses in Medford and two were in such bad shape," Pyke recalled. On a break from their low-paying jobs, Ray, a security worker, and Charlotte, a grocery store deli clerk, came across a tidy three-bedroom home near White Mountain Elementary School in White City. The 40-year-old home has a big back yard where Raymond, 7, and Jeffrey, 6, can play. At 1,008 square feet, it has enough space for Johnthan, 14, to have his own room. The cost? $199,900. Ing agreed to buy it. On Aug. 23, she inked the deal. On Aug. 29, the Harbours moved in. "Gina said she wanted us to be in before school started," Ray Harbour said. Slowly, the family is starting to make the place a home. Two easy chairs showed up after a relative’s funeral. A neighbor gave them a computer desk from a garage sale. The boys are still sleeping on blankets on the floor, but that will change soon. "I love it," said Johnthan, who’s now a freshman at Eagle Point High School. "It’s awesome." For Ing, making sure this family has a place to live has been a repayment of sorts, for years spent asking others to give. As development director at KSOR radio, then later the Rogue Valley Symphony and the Eugene Symphony, she has pitched people for thousands of dollars for worthy causes. She’s now on the board of CASA — Court Appointed Special Advocates — asking for contributions to help abused and neglected children. She hopes her action will encourage others to reach out as well. "I became aware of the problems that many children in our area face," Ing said. "There’s such a huge difference when someone gives them a leg up." For Ray Harbour and his family, the boost is still a little unbelievable. "I never thought this would happen," he said. "Because of where we were, we got where we are." Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail A home of their own ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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