Habitat for Humanity: Day 1

Wow, I can't believe the day finally came when I could work with Habitat for Humanity! After 3.5 months of planning I was finally able to work with this amazing organization, and I can tell you they didn't disappoint. 

I started the day off working with Kate Nelson, who focuses on the region's A Brush With Kindness projects. These projects are under Habitat, but instead of constructing an entirely new home from scratch, they focus on renovating already existing homes and helping those do work that they otherwise cannot afford, or work that people physically aren't capable of doing themselves. Kate was absolutely awesome and it was interesting driving around with her today. As we got to know each other I actually found out she's from West Chester, where I'm going to grad school starting Monday! Such a small world!

Anyway, we started off the day driving to Union Beach and Keansburg, which were two areas that were hit the hardest by Hurricane Sandy. As we drove through the neighborhoods it was clear that there was still so much work to be done in the area. The three year anniversary of the storm will be in October, but even today there are many homes that are abandoned, rotting, or are really run-down. We saw many homes that were being raised-I learned this is now a requirement of every home in the area, to prevent damage if another storm were to hit and because insurers won't insure the homes otherwise. After that we did three projects today.

Project 1: Seal Decks at Keansburg Home

We made our first stop at a home in Keansburg, where we were to seal the family's decks (many people had decks before, but now every home pretty much has one since all the homes have been raised up high). We met a woman who was so friendly, who has a young son and an adorable dog named Smokey. It was a great project to start my Habitat experience with; something fairly easy to do and allowed us to all just talk and listen to what this woman is going through right now. Unfortunately after we left it rained, and we are praying that it didn't rain on this woman's decks or the whole project would be ruined and we'd have to start from scratch. However even if it didn't work out, I think the most important and impactful part of this stop was simply listening to this woman's story. She has a lot on her mind and I think it was therapeutic to simply talk to people who are willing to listen. 

Project 2: Power Wash Decks at Keansburg Home

Power washing the deck in the rain

The next stop we made was at another woman's home in Keansburg. We didn't interact with her, but we power washed her front deck and a small stoop near the curb of her home. We also watered her bushes and plants. I can officially say I can use a power washer, which knowing me is a pretty cool thing! We were at this home when the rain started (it's hard to tell in the picture, but I'm drenched), and we hoped it would steer clear of the first home and instead go out towards the coast. 

Project 3: The House That Youth Built, Port Monmouth

Me, Anna, and Kate in front of the Habitat home

After we were done, we drove to the new home that is being built in nearby Port Monmouth. This is the home I'll be working on the next two days. This project is unique in that area youth raised $75,000 to build this home, and are often the main volunteers working to build it, hence it's title as "The House That Youth Built". Originally we were there to just take a look at the progress and meet the project managers, but we wound up staying for quite a while! The house is really coming along, people were inside spackling the walls and were constructing a deck and stairs leading up to the front door outside. We ran into the recipient of the home, whose name is Anna. Anna and her granddaughter lost their entire home to Hurricane Sandy, and have been living in an apartment for the last year and a half. This woman just lit up my whole day- she was so excited for us to be there and she was really engaged in the whole process. She made us delicious homemade Mexican food and proudly showed off the progress of her new home. 

The yard before we started

The yard after we were done 

A big part of Habitat's mission is to be a hand up, not a hand-out. Therefore they require home owners to participate in the project, which is something I love about the organization. I think it gives people more pride in what the organization is doing for them, because they are helping too. Anna was the epitome of this. We decided to pull weeds out from along her fence line since they'd been overgrown since Sandy hit. Anna was there with us the whole time, laughing and telling us about how she loves to garden and which plants to not rip up. It felt really good helping her today-I can tell that she is so grateful for the work Habitat is doing, and she can finally see the end in sight! This home is to be completed by September 2nd of this year, and she can finally move back into a place that she can claim as her own. 

That was the major project we undertook there today, and as you can see in the pictures the yard already looks a lot better. Next week Kate is coming to landscape the entire yard, and this was a much needed first step to prepare for that. 




I am exhausted, am getting a great tan, and I could not be happier. I'm excited to start at Anna's home again tomorrow!

Toodles, 

Lisa