To be Safe at Home — Habitat for Humanity Critical Home Repair outreach project
Beginning in the middle of August, St. Martin’s will be doing a Critical Home Repair project with our friends at Habitat for Humanity in Lancaster, SC!
Three ways to volunteer:
Sign up on the poster board in the Narthex after worship.
Contact Bob Bell.
You can find his information in Realm or shoot Caitlyn a message, and she’ll pass it along.
No experience?
No problem.
Habitat staff will be on site to teach and guide all volunteers each step of the way.
Everyone can have a role in this project.
If you have other gifts you think you can contribute, please contact Caitlyn.
Volunteer Shifts
Thursday 8/19 — Roofing
need 8-9 folks comfortable with heights and ladders, 2-3 “cooling crew” to stay on ground and help workers stay cool
Friday 8/20 — Roofing
need 8-9 folks comfortable with heights and ladders, 2-3 “cooling crew” to stay on ground and help workers stay cool
Saturday 8/21 — Roofing
need 8-9 folks comfortable with heights and ladders, 2-3 “cooling crew” to stay on ground and help workers stay cool, 5 lunch volunteers to pack lunches at St. Martin’s
Friday 8/27 — Siding, and finishing roofing
need 9 folks comfortable with heights and ladders to do siding, 3-4 to serve as “cooling crew” on the ground, one to power wash, and lunch volunteers.
Saturday 8/28 — Siding
need 9 folks comfortable with heights and ladders to do siding, 3-4 to serve as “cooling crew” on the ground, one to power wash, and lunch volunteers.
Additional weekends may be announced soon.
We’ll continue the work until our work is done.
Why Lancaster?
The exterior of the house we will help repair. The home was originally built in 1910.
I (Caitlyn) was put in touch with a family in Lancaster through a friend in the Episcopal Migration Ministries network. They had immigrated from Cameroon many years ago, and were having shelter issues during the winter months. St. Martin’s was the closest church involved in the network, and so at first my friend called asking if we might occasionally offer a little support.
Their house was open to the elements and cold in the winter. Every time the temperature dipped to near freezing they couldn’t stay warm enough at night, waking up with numb fingers, and their pipes would be too cold for showering. I helped support some basic needs on the coldest days through my discretionary fund and helped them find shelter when they needed it, but as I began hearing more of their story, I knew that we could help remedy their shelter problems.
I spent several months through the winter and the spring learning about all of the various resources available to immigrants in our region, calling nonprofits and law offices and community organizers and government officials, trying to find a resource that could specifically help them with their housing issues and shelter. However, most of the programs were geared toward folks from South American countries, and this family immigrated from Central Africa. For a variety of reasons, the resources I found could not help this family in their particular situation. Theirs is one which falls through the cracks.
Along came Habitat
Then I called Nita Brown, the executive director for Habitat for Humanity in Lancaster. “Hi Nita, my name is Caitlyn, and I think I need your help.” I told Nita about the family and said that, since all else had failed, St. Martin’s might be interested in helping do some of the repairs, but that we needed a good partner to help guide us in the work. She was bold enough to say yes!
We’ve been working together since January, helping the family get paperwork in order, assess the state of the house, do inspections, make estimates, and lay the groundwork for construction repairs to begin. The house requires many repairs, which we broke into rough “phases” that could be completed at different times.
What We’re Doing
We’ll be assisting with Phase 1 — repairing the roof, siding, and basic electrical reinstallation. The backside of the house is not fully walled in, and the roof leaks. We’ll be helping replace the roofing, add the necessary walls and siding to the back of the house where there is none. After we have done these two things, a Habitat electrician will come and rewire that part of their house. This will accomplish our first goal: Get the house safe enough that they can stay in it through the winter.
Interior image of the home. See that light peeking through in the back? When we’re done those holes will be walled in.
How to Volunteer
We’ll need several small groups of volunteers on different days. We’ll need many volunteers who are comfortable being on the roof and being on tall ladders. A Habitat construction manager will be on site to help teach us everything that we will need to know for our various tasks that day. We’ll also need some ground volunteers to help keep everyone cool, hydrated, and well-fed. We’ve estimated that we’ll be working for three weekends back-to-back. When the volunteer schedule is published, you’ll be able to sign up for which kind of volunteer you’d like to be, and what days you can come help.
If you’re interested and excited about helping in some way, please contact Bob Bell through Realm, or send a message to Caitlyn.
Please also pray for the family, those who will volunteer, our friends at Habitat, and the supply chains as this project comes to fruition over the next month. Pray that our works may be just, merciful, and give dignity to those we hope to serve.
