The Publication of Habitat for Humanity International | December 1999/January 2000
| The Publication of Habitat for Humanity International | December 1999/January 2000 |
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AT HOME WITH A NEW BEGINNING
By Karen Free Jerome and Elaine Barry were introduced to Habitat World readers in the magazine's December 1997/January 1998 issue. After years of renting other people's basements, then living with relatives in an effort to save money for a house of their own, the Barrys moved into their three-bedroom Habitat house in August 1997. Today, the Barrys say their lives as Habitat homeowners are "more at ease," and Jerome has bold counsel for others still in despair. Ask Jerome and Elaine Barry to name something that's different about their lives since becoming Habitat homeowners, and they will tell you they don't go out much anymore. "We used to get out and drive in the evenings, just to get away," says Elaine. "Now it's completely different. Life is more at ease; we can do what we want, when we want." Other differences? The Barrys tick them off without hesitation: The seven-year cumulative strain of feeling the need to keep their young daughter, Jillian, quiet because of the neighbors has abated; the frustration of feeling embarrassed inviting friends over has disappeared; the awareness of families afoot overhead is gone; and the resentment of paying rent to someone else has lifted. Perhaps most importantly, however, the spiritual despair that so gripped Jerome that he once said of attending church, "Maybe that's the only place to go and relax," has been replaced with belief. "I couldn't wait to get home from church [that] Sunday and tell Elaine [about learning of Habitat for Humanity]. There were only a couple of days left to apply [for a Habitat house] before the deadline," he says.
Elaine was less enthused than Jerome by the news. After all, they had never heard of Habitat for Humanity and nothing about their situation had changed for the better in 13 years. Now she was being asked to believe that their income just might be sufficient to pay a mortgage, that they would help build their house alongside strangers, and that the house would be built in one week? They applied to be one of seven homeowners. Of the nearly 200 applications received, the affiliate's family selection committee whittled away at those that failed to meet Habitat's criteria of need, ability to pay, and a willingness to partner, until there were 15 qualified applicants. Then there were 12. Then eight. The Barrys were informed they had been selected as an alternate family; that should one of the other seven families choose not to partner with Habitat, they would be notified. Then at the last minute, one of the other families decided they were not ready for homeownership, and opted out. The Barrys were "in," and were each required to put in 500 sweat equity hours on their house. Often, Jerome would finish at his day job at 2 p.m., then work on the three-bedroom house until midnight. "When I learned that people from Mexico, Texas and Jamaica were coming to help build our house, I thought, 'Why are all these people coming here? There's got to be something in it for them.' Now I consider them my friends." Jerome would like to participate in another build somewhere, someday. "When I heard they were building 100 houses in Texas (in Houston, at the 1998 Jimmy Carter Work Project), my hair stood up on end," he says. But for now he continues working at the local hospital. Elaine-a hairdresser for 15 years, and then a store clerk until a recent cutback-now works as a product technician at a local manufacturing company. "My experience with Habitat has given me back my sense of childhood security," says Jerome. "I come from a small town that was great for bringing people together. When you get away from the small towns and into the city, you find people are different, people don't offer to help each other much. But if ever an angel was sent from heaven, it is Karen (Alexander, chairperson of the family nurture committee)," he says. She had the responsibility of helping them with paperwork, and preparing them for homeownership, as well as the media spotlight they would be in during the weeklong blitz build. "I didn't believe there was a person alive who could care so much about another human being," says Jerome. Asked what he would say to others who live in despair and have lost faith amid life's trials, Jerome says: "Come stay with me for a week. Bring a hammer and saw, and I'll fix you up. Get involved with other people-somebody else in the world needs your help." "My experience with habitat has given me back my sense of childhood security. …When you get away from small towns… people don't offer to help each other much." — Jerome Barry, "You saved my life," Jerome Barry said of the volunteers who helped build his house in 1997. "This is the way I grew up…everyone helping everyone. This feels right at home." — Jerome Barry, Karen Free is associate editor of Habitat World. Reprinted from Habitat World Magazine, December/January 2000. This article may not be reproduced in any form without permission. ©1999 Habitat for Humanity International |
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