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| At daybreak, eager volunteers begin a day's construction during the Jimmy Carter Work Project 2000 in Americus, Ga. |
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Asking the Right Questions Key to Successful Build
By Shawn Reeves
 After building one house a year between 1989 and 1995, Habitat for Humanity of Cleveland County in Shelby, N.C., "sort of fell asleep," according to Dr. Joe Minus, board member and former board president who led the charge to "resuscitate" it three years ago. A spark had flickered in those early years but never fully ignited, and when a few heavily involved volunteers left the western North Carolina community, so began the slumber.
Renewed a few years later and with a stronger pulse in the community, the affiliate built three houses in 2002, four in 2003 and, in the next couple of years, expects to complete the 14-house Habitat neighborhood that has become its focus.
None of this could have happened without a substantive core of volunteers who were needed not only on the Saturday morning build site, but--even before that--on the construction committee as well.
The affiliate's rebirth took leadership. It took patience and planning, and Minus is quick to credit the cluster of volunteers who embraced the notion of decent, affordable housing and whose efforts built the foundation--literally and figuratively--on which the affiliate would re-emerge.
Effective committees help provide the framework for affiliate operations, and the purpose of the construction committee, according to Habitat for Humanity International's Middle States affiliate support manager Mark Lassman-Eul, is "to make it possible for other volunteers to build the house."
The responsibilities of such a committee vary according to the size and maturity of the affiliate, says Nevil Eastwood, director for HFHI's construction and environmental resources department. And often both construction and site selection obligations are blended into a single committee.
Eastwood also says that committee size varies from one affiliate to another, but that it is important for the committee to strike a balance between too many members, as there could be too little work to keep everyone busy, and too few members, as the workload could "burn out" even the hardiest of volunteers.
Because of Habitat's house-building mission, the construction committee might appear at first glance to be the most obvious. But within the construction preparations reside plenty of issues that must be addressed before volunteers arrive on site, tool belt buckled, hammer clenched.
Initially, a site selection committee must identify and secure a place to build. But there are many questions to be considered. In a training document Lassman-Eul prepared to help guide affiliates, he lists several: Where in an affiliate's target area does the affiliate wish to build first? Why? How will the affiliate enter that community? Will the community object to a Habitat presence there? Are there NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) issues?
Affiliates also need to determine what kind of housing they wish to build, he says. Will it be on scattered sites or in one neighborhood? Rehab or new construction? Single family or multi-family?
Land must be researched and acquired, but it can't be just any land. If it's not suitable for building, says Eastwood, it does the affiliate no good. Affiliates may find themselves declining land donations simply because they could never use the property. Perhaps it is located in a floodplain, or the slope is too severe and the necessary grading would be cost-prohibitive.
Local zoning ordinances also are considered, feasibility studies undertaken, infrastructure assessed. The tasks are many, and it is important, says Eastwood, that these committees are composed, at least partially, of volunteers--real estate agents, builders or developers--familiar with land and, perhaps, town planning. However, it should be noted, he says, that one's participation should not be based solely on expertise in these areas. The most important attributes in any committee volunteer are interest and a desire to contribute to the ultimate goal of building houses, no matter how that contribution might reveal itself.
Jerry Henry at HFH of Cleveland County possesses such drive and has been a force in the affiliate's resurgence. A retired engineer, Henry began his Habitat involvement three years ago, aiming to build decent housing throughout Shelby and the surrounding community. Not only has he remained heavily involved in house building, but he still chairs the construction committee as well. He can speak first hand about what results a devoted committee can produce.
"We have a core of very capable and loyal volunteers who serve on the committee and also build on site," Henry says. "In order to build houses, you've got to have not only capable people on board, but people who are willing to get out there every day and work hard ... to do what's needed to build houses."
Though Henry's focus falls in the construction realm, he recognizes that so much more effort is required before an affiliate is in a position to build. In the end, he says, it all comes down to volunteers, to compassionate individuals who share a concern for those living in substandard conditions.
Habitat affiliates across the United States and around the world vary widely in their capacity to build, to raise money and to reach new people with the message of what Habitat is doing to combat substandard housing.
An excerpt from a committee organizing manual written by HFHI's Central Atlantic regional office reads, "We've all said it and heard it: Everybody wants to pound nails, and we can't find anyone to serve on committees." The manual goes on to underscore the importance of affiliate committees and the need for concerned people to get involved at that level of an affiliate's operations: "Without strong, well-functioning committees to serve as the affiliate's 'volunteer staff,' no affiliate can sustain long-term health and growth."
Committees are necessary to affiliate progress, but they're only as effective as the volunteers who comprise them. Through a coordinated and committed approach, committees can do remarkable things, not the least of which is to stir a "sleeping" affiliate.
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