Filed under: events, news | Tags: habitat, Habitat for Humanity, Smith County
Habitat for Humanity of Smith County has been active for twenty years providing the opportunity for safe, decent and affordable housing. The families are screened through an extensive application process, then they work hundreds of hours of volunteer time on other people’s houses before construction begins on their home, where they again work hundreds of volunteer hours. This volunteer time is called “sweat equity,” as it represents their direct investment in the purchase of their home. When complete, the families sign a twenty to thirty year mortgage at ZERO percent interest based on the cost of actually building their home, and they become tax-paying homeowners, many for the first time! In essentially every case, the total monthly payment for their mortgage principal plus taxes plus insurance is LESS than what they have been paying for the substandard rental housing they are leaving! This program is truly a “hand up,” not a “handout.”
Once again, the Tyler-area Churches of Christ will come together this fall to build a house with Habitat for Humanity of Smith County (www.smithcountyhabitat.org). This will be the seventh home we have sponsored and built together over the last twelve years. This year’s job site will be on Depriest Avenue, which is located in southwest Tyler across from the St. Louis School on Walton Road. Construction will begin in September, but donations of funds and commitments for labor and materials are currently being coordinated by Greg Grubb, Milton Arnold, Tom Carey and Dewayne Manning. Glenwood’s financial goal is $20,000 for this house. We are approximately one-half way toward this goal. Please contact any of the above members with questions or donations!
The first day of on-site construction is scheduled for September 19, and if prior years’ success continues, we will have all the walls raised and roof trusses in place and even decking attached to the roof by the end of the day, in a process very similar to that shown in the time-lapse video from earlier this year (http://tinyurl.com/nysxzd). Afterward, we will be working mainly on Thursdays and Saturdays for the next ten to twelve weeks in an effort to finish this house so the Rios family can move in by Christmas!
Besides the wonderful changes we see in the homeowner families’ lives due to their new home, the volunteers who participate in the on-site construction are also changed. At Habitat, we call it the “Theology of the Hammer,” where true fellowship and brotherhood are developed by working side-by-side with people who share a holy goal, fulfilling the Second Great Commandment, loving our neighbor. By focusing on what’s truly important, we find that the conflicts and issues that divide us fade into insignificance.
