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Habitat for Humanity Provides Homes for Families That Can't Afford Them
What do former president Jimmy Carter and Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway have in common with Fairfield's John Loin? Building housing for the needy through their hands-on efforts. The result is not just homes but an infection of good will that affects the volunteer with what is humorously referred to as "infectious habititis."
This phrase was defined by Habitat for Humanity's founder Millard Fuller in his book A Simple Decent Place To Live as the enthusiasm someone has who is deeply committed to eliminating poverty housing. It's a recognition that we all need to help somebody besides our immediate family and friends, an interconnectedness with the rest of the community. Fairfield has now become an affiliate partner with the national Habitat organization, and a house being built at 803 W. Broadway will be its first project as well as a home for Mrs. Carol Dillman and her family of five kids.
What do the volunteers have to say about this project? "I enjoy it and think it's the right thing to do," says John Loin, president and construction supervisor for Habitat in Fairfield.
"I think it's a constructive use of my time--a much better alternative to watching TV," says volunteer coordinator Cindy Fermanich. These people aren't looking for happiness: they've already got it and want to pass it on.
Habitat volunteers came from all over, from a variety of backgrounds, and have one thing in common: this laudable infection. Explains John, "I heard about this organization and thought that since I was a carpenter I could be of help, so I took a week's vacation in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. I wasn't the only one. There were 1,500 of us, including Jimmy Carter. We built 30 homes in one week. That was back in 1994--that's when I got the infection."
When John returned home, he went back to work at his regular contracting business with Brian Sheehan, but he found time to organize a committee to establish a regional affiliate of Habitat. By July 1995 he had a 15-person steering committee established. Come May 1997, Fairfield had become an official affiliate partner.
The infection spread. Cindy shares the title of volunteer coordinator with Earl Shepard from San Diego. That means they recruit volunteers. Earl commutes between Fairfield and San Diego. "I'm a fire chief, on call for 24 hours a day for 10 days," Earl says. "I handle home and forest fires. Then I fly home to my vacation spot in Fairfield for the remainder of the month and help out with the construction."
During construction time, Cindy occasionally prepares lunch for the crew, and Earl swings a hammer. Cindy has an administrative job with Saint Mary's Church, and since the church was involved with Habitat, she soon felt its effect.
Volunteers even came down from Saint Mary's University in Minnesota to help during spring break. College kids that could have been spending their time strictly having fun chose to get into the act. John says that Fairfield could only use them for one day because they didn't have enough supervisors to go around for the rest of the week. That didn't stop the students. They just went to work on another Habitat job in Ottumwa for the remainder of the week under a program called "Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge." College students were organized to help out Habitat everywhere in the United States during spring break where affiliates were doing construction work.
This feeling that the volunteers experienced extends even to the recipients. The beneficiaries of the project are called the partnering family, and the name fits. Even recipient Carol Dillman and her kids have gotten into the act, mostly in the area of cleanup and yard work. Mrs. Dillman is required to put in 200 hours of "sweat equity." That means she has to help build her house and houses for others. Prior to being told that she would be the recipient of the house, she had already volunteered to help out, not really expecting to be the beneficiary of the project. "I thought there were a lot of other people out there more in need than me," she says. It looks like she got the infection early.
I visited the building several months ago. It's just across the tracks and west of the Broadway Building. The building looked vacant so I decided to snoop. I tried the door knob and walked in. A voice called out to me from I don't know where. On the second announcement I saw a gentleman in what appeared to be a hole in the floor. We introduced each other. I explained my purpose and so did he. Dan Walker is a building inspector, another volunteer doing his job, and I was the intruder. Time to leave anyhow.
I went back to the building on a Saturday this time. That's really the only time most people can help out. I got as far as the front yard and found John working on the front porch along with Ron Woods and Jonathan Gritz. It had stopped raining and the front yard was muddy. Ron has been a regular there from the start. He's an independent researcher in physics and a software consultant. "I found out about this project from a direct-mail piece, and besides, I like being involved with community projects," he said.
Jonathan, age 16, was the youngest recruit that day. "I'm here for the experience," he said. "I plan to do construction work in the future." I asked him how he got involved. John Loin interceded with, "Hey, your dad donated money for the project." Jonathan explained that he got involved when Saint Mary's Church was selling raffle tickets for a playhouse that was to be raffled off on "kids' day" last year. This was a way of generating money and obtaining a list of volunteers that could be counted on when construction began. Jonathan happened to be there and so signed up as a volunteer. He is kind of young to get the infection. (Fourteen is the minimum age limit. There is no maximum age limit.) The three of them were working at putting a sub-fascia on the front of the porch. That's a framing piece, a 2 x 6 positioned along the front edge of the porch roof that provides support.
Since John was constantly working within easy earshot, I kept asking questions. John's present estimate of this house's cost for materials plus the value of the property comes to about $35,000. If this had been a regular construction job, the house would have cost about $70,000. Ten percent of the actual cash donations collected will go as a tithe to the Central America Home Construction Fund. "We really wanted the money to be directed to Panama but they didn't have an affiliate there yet, so for now countries like Mexico and Costa Rica will use our tithe to help build homes," he said.
According to John, about 200 people have worked on the construction to date. It takes another 40 to 60 administrative people to support Habitat in each community. Specifically, you need people in public relations, in a fund-raising committee, in family support, and in coordination. He explains family support: When the home is finished and the recipient moves in, the project doesn't end there. People are assigned to keep in touch with the recipient and make certain that all is going well with them personally and that their home is being maintained properly.
Many businesses in town have provided materials and labor. The list is endless. Some companies outright donated materials, while others have provided materials at cost or have given a significant discount. Even businesses outside of town have helped out.
Habitat isn't restricted to the United States. According to Fuller's book, this is a people-to-people partnership to provide housing for the needy all over the world. There are currently 1,400 Habitat for Humanity affiliates in communities across the Unites States alone, along with South America, most of southeast Asia, India, and about one-third of Africa.
As an affiliate, the Fairfield organization's objective is to build modest but adequate housing for qualified people within a 15-mile radius of the city of Fairfield. The international organization has as its goal "to eliminate poverty housing from the face of the earth." The United States cannot accept all the poor people in the world, so the plan is to build simple, decent places for people in need all over the world. The belief is that it is hard to break out of the cycle of poverty when you live in a broken-down shack. Home costs vary from $500 in Panama to $40,000 in the U.S. The finance plan is this: no profit, no interest, and a long payment schedule.
According to Habitat Affiliates Worldwide, an estimated 1.43 billion people live in inadequate housing, which amounts to 25 percent of the world's population. So is this organization tackling an impossible task? They don't think so. At the beginning of Fuller's book is a statement by architect and planner Daniel H. Burnham of Chicago that represents their attitude: "Make no little plans: they have no magic to stir men's blood . . . . Make big plans . . . aim high in hope and work."
If you'd like to help out, call Cindy Fermanich at (515) 469-3147 or Earl Shepard at 472-5565. When Earl is out of town fighting fires his wife takes messages. John needs supervisors--that is, building construction people who can work during weekdays. Retirees are welcome.
Caution: infectious habititis is contagious.
***
If you'd like to make a donation to the Greater Fairfield Area Habitat for Humanity, or if you wish for more information, write to P.O. Box 334, Fairfield, IA 52556, or call John Loin at (515) 472-0765.
For worldwide information write: Habitat for Humanity International,121 Habitat Street, Americus, GA 31709-3498 or visit the Web site: <http://www.habitat.org/>.
