Habitat World Online

The Publication of Habitat for Humanity International | June 2007


•	The Tithes that Bind
•	Rising from Ruins
•	Many Gifts, One Spirit
•	JCWP: Housing Issues to Shine in L.A.'s Spotlight
•	Reaching the Roma
•	Spotlight: Cars for Homes
•	Spotlight: This Isn't Just a Logo...
•	Spotlight: HFHI's Gulf Coast Recovery Needs you!
•	Spotlight: Be an Advocate with Habitat for Humanity

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Modular construction is under way along the Gulf Coast, including a 24-house subdivision in Covington, La.

Modular houses used to scale up Gulf Coast rebuilding

"Thank you, Lord. We have worked and prayed for this day," said Gail Morgan. She watched, spellbound, as a crane lifted half of her new house and placed it precisely on the foundation.

Morgan, other homeowners, volunteers, and representatives of Habitat affiliates from as far away as Dallas and North Carolina gathered in Covington, La., for a March 9 Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West event that highlighted modular construction techniques. They watched two homes being lifted into place by a crane and toured some of the 24 modular-built houses in a subdivision between Covington and nearby Abita Springs. At the same time, volunteers, family members and staff installed flooring in modular homes that had been delivered earlier.

In Covington and Baton Rouge, La., and in Dothan, Ala., Habitat affiliates are using modular construction in a fast-track move to provide permanent homes in partnership with families affected by Hurricane Katrina. The modular houses are made of the same materials as traditional stick-built houses. Volunteers and partner families can do interior and exterior finish work, as well as siding, roofing and landscaping.

"Modular housing is just another tool we are encouraging affiliates to use to scale up building for hurricane-affected families," explains Veronica Taylor, senior director of Operation Home Delivery, Habitat's hurricane-recovery program.

"We'll complete these 24 homes in four months--and that's amazing," says Maureen Clary, executive director of Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West. "At the same time, we're able to keep up a busy schedule of stick-built homes."

Before Katrina, the affiliate had planned an aggressive push to build 20 to 30 homes a year, starting in 2007. Since October 2005, the affiliate has 49 homes completed or under construction, with plans to complete 100 homes within two years of the hurricane.

Call to Action
Reckford book serves as study guide and rallying cry

When lives are transformed in the midst of hopeless poverty, a simple, decent house becomes holy ground. Habitat CEO Jonathan Reckford has watched it happen in many corners of the world. His new book, Creating a Habitat for Humanity: No Hands but Yours, tells the story of transformed homeowners and volunteers while it others a concise guide to joining Habitat's mission to end poverty housing. This call to action for church congregations and caring citizens of the world offers thoughtful questions at the end of each chapter for group discussion or individual probing.

Reckford clearly affirms that God requires mercy, justice and humility from all of us and that those requirements call for more than just passive pew-sitting. A self-assessment in the book asks convicting questions that help lead to action to follow God's personal call for each human being with passion and commitment. A chapter on understanding challenges readers to deal with the reality of the budget of a poor family.

The book outlines many specific ways to help end poverty housing and join Habitat for Humanity's ministry. But it also urges Christian action that expresses individual passion: If you are unable to work with Habitat to build decent, affordable housing, do something.

The book is available at bookstores and through all online booksellers or through the publisher of the book, Augsburg Fortress, which also has a special Web site (www.augsburgfortress.org/education/creatingahabitatforhumanity) offering support materials for using the book in groups.

A Promise Kept
New film honors late Habitat board member Pat Smith

A short documentary chronicling the completion of a 13-house Habitat project in Gulfport, Miss., premiered in Lexington, Ky., in February.

The documentary, titled Pat Smith's Habitat Promise, was filmed by Lexington native Travis Jones and records the efforts of Smith's family members and friends to complete houses in Smith's honor over Thanksgiving week. Pat Smith was among the victims in the August 2006 crash of Comair Flight 5191 outside of Lexington. A member of the Habitat for Humanity International board of directors, Smith had been on his way to Gulfport to work on the project for 13 families displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

The film features interviews with volunteers and family members on the build site, as well as a press conference with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter at the project's dedication. More than 100 people traveled to Mississippi to help complete the homes, a testimony to Smith's often-acknowledged skill in getting people involved with Habitat.

The premiere of Pat Smith's Habitat Promise was hosted by the Pat Smith Habitat for Humanity Endowment Fund, which was established by Lexington Habitat for Humanity in conjunction with Smith's family to continue Smith's vision of providing affordable housing in Lexington and around the world. Goals for the endowment include funding the construction of a Habitat house in Lexington each year and providing scholarships for volunteers to travel to build Habitat houses elsewhere in the world. Information on the endowment is available at www.lexhabitat.org.