By Cammy Clark
cclark@MiamiHerald.com
The pounding of hammers rumbled in one Liberty City neighborhood all day Monday. For 10 low-income families, it was the sound of the miracle of home ownership.
“We’re so excited, we’re ready to move now,” said Kizzy Robinson, 34, a public service aide for the City of Miami.
Wielding her own hammer, she happily provided the mandated sweat equity on her new three-bedroom, one-bathroom home that she will share with her equally excited 15-year-old daughter.
Together, they chose the exterior color: mauve.
Robinson’s home is part of the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami’s 13{+t}{+h} “Building Blitz.” With the help of about 2,000 volunteers, 10 new homes will be completed in 13 days.
If all goes well, the move-in date is May 1. It’s the start of home ownership for the 10 families and another step in the bigger goal of bringing hope for the future to the area.
“We are trying not to just build houses, but to build communities,” said Mario Artecona, CEO for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami. “What we hope to do with these houses is give folks a little push out of poverty and give them a sense of ownership and roots, which has an immense effect on how they view the future.”
Edwin Dunn, a 59-year-old single dad who supports his three children as a cook at Jackson Memorial Hospital, said his new home will make him feel “stable.”
“I thought it was impossible, only if I win big money,” he said. “It’s going to be my home for my kids. Now I have something I can leave to my children when I die.”
Habitat for Humanity first began work in Liberty City in 1991 with the Jimmy Carter Work Project that built 14 homes and a daycare center after riots left the once proud and cultural neighborhood in ruins.
But attention soon got diverted to areas ravished by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
In 2005, Habitat for Humanity refocused on inner-city projects and built 52 homes where the former Scott-Carver housing projects stood.
Now, the new push for the non-profit organization is to complete 140 homes in Liberty City by December 2012, utilizing the $9.3 million, three-year grant it received from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2.
Miami-Dade County donated the land, which was mostly abandoned and vacant lots.
Thirty-five houses already have been built, with 40 more in some phase of construction.
“We are on pace in our spending and construction, but we could definitely use more families in the pipeline,” Artecona said.
The application process is time-consuming. A family must go through credit and background checks, credit counseling and employment and salary verification. Once approved, families must provide 250 hours of sweat equity.
“Part of the mind set is that when you live in disadvantage area for so long, you almost feel you are not entitled to something,’’ Artecona said. “We help them realize they can reach the American Dream of owning a home.”
As Dunn and Robinson found out, the process is doable and worth it.
Their mortgage payments, including insurance and taxes, are about $700 a month, less than they were paying in rent. “It’s less than my Section 8 housing,” Robinson said.
The houses in the current blitz cost between $100,000 and $124,000, with donations from corporations helping to subsidize costs. The homeowners pay a $1,500 down-payment and receive a zero-interest loan, for 30 years.
“The whole goal is to make it affordable,” Artecona said. “Our foreclosure rate is only about 3 percent, well below the national average.”
That affordability also comes from the countless hours of volunteer labor that was in evidence Monday, about 20 people per home.
Some of the volunteers are professional builders, such as general contractor Carlos Quintero. He usually builds luxury homes with marble and granite.
“This is a beautiful thing to help out,” he said.
Quintero said this project is especially close to his heart since he attended high school at nearby Miami Northwestern High School, one of several students bussed there in the 1990s from Kendall.
“This neighborhood used to be a big slum,” he said. “There definitely is a difference driving through here from 1998 when I graduated to 2011. I see the change. The streets are cleaner.”
Volunteers also include those who know little or nothing about building, including Publix workers Danielle Gillett, 19 and Alex Cusato, 21. They were building bathroom walls.
“It’s nice to dedicate your time to helping somebody,” Gillett said.
The concrete foundations and shell of the house, as well as the electrical and plumbing work are done by professionals. But the painting, drywall, roofing, interior framing, finish work and landscaping all are done by the volunteers, with guidance from a Habitat for Humanity construction crew.
“It’s a miracle to see everybody come here from everywhere to help build my home,” Robinson said. “It makes me really feel good.”
“We’re so excited, we’re ready to move now,” said Kizzy Robinson, 34, a public service aide for the City of Miami.
Wielding her own hammer, she happily provided the mandated sweat equity on her new three-bedroom, one-bathroom home that she will share with her equally excited 15-year-old daughter.
Together, they chose the exterior color: mauve.
Robinson’s home is part of the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami’s 13{+t}{+h} “Building Blitz.” With the help of about 2,000 volunteers, 10 new homes will be completed in 13 days.
If all goes well, the move-in date is May 1. It’s the start of home ownership for the 10 families and another step in the bigger goal of bringing hope for the future to the area.
“We are trying not to just build houses, but to build communities,” said Mario Artecona, CEO for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami. “What we hope to do with these houses is give folks a little push out of poverty and give them a sense of ownership and roots, which has an immense effect on how they view the future.”
Edwin Dunn, a 59-year-old single dad who supports his three children as a cook at Jackson Memorial Hospital, said his new home will make him feel “stable.”
“I thought it was impossible, only if I win big money,” he said. “It’s going to be my home for my kids. Now I have something I can leave to my children when I die.”
Habitat for Humanity first began work in Liberty City in 1991 with the Jimmy Carter Work Project that built 14 homes and a daycare center after riots left the once proud and cultural neighborhood in ruins.
But attention soon got diverted to areas ravished by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
In 2005, Habitat for Humanity refocused on inner-city projects and built 52 homes where the former Scott-Carver housing projects stood.
Now, the new push for the non-profit organization is to complete 140 homes in Liberty City by December 2012, utilizing the $9.3 million, three-year grant it received from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2.
Miami-Dade County donated the land, which was mostly abandoned and vacant lots.
Thirty-five houses already have been built, with 40 more in some phase of construction.
“We are on pace in our spending and construction, but we could definitely use more families in the pipeline,” Artecona said.
The application process is time-consuming. A family must go through credit and background checks, credit counseling and employment and salary verification. Once approved, families must provide 250 hours of sweat equity.
“Part of the mind set is that when you live in disadvantage area for so long, you almost feel you are not entitled to something,’’ Artecona said. “We help them realize they can reach the American Dream of owning a home.”
As Dunn and Robinson found out, the process is doable and worth it.
Their mortgage payments, including insurance and taxes, are about $700 a month, less than they were paying in rent. “It’s less than my Section 8 housing,” Robinson said.
The houses in the current blitz cost between $100,000 and $124,000, with donations from corporations helping to subsidize costs. The homeowners pay a $1,500 down-payment and receive a zero-interest loan, for 30 years.
“The whole goal is to make it affordable,” Artecona said. “Our foreclosure rate is only about 3 percent, well below the national average.”
That affordability also comes from the countless hours of volunteer labor that was in evidence Monday, about 20 people per home.
Some of the volunteers are professional builders, such as general contractor Carlos Quintero. He usually builds luxury homes with marble and granite.
“This is a beautiful thing to help out,” he said.
Quintero said this project is especially close to his heart since he attended high school at nearby Miami Northwestern High School, one of several students bussed there in the 1990s from Kendall.
“This neighborhood used to be a big slum,” he said. “There definitely is a difference driving through here from 1998 when I graduated to 2011. I see the change. The streets are cleaner.”
Volunteers also include those who know little or nothing about building, including Publix workers Danielle Gillett, 19 and Alex Cusato, 21. They were building bathroom walls.
“It’s nice to dedicate your time to helping somebody,” Gillett said.
The concrete foundations and shell of the house, as well as the electrical and plumbing work are done by professionals. But the painting, drywall, roofing, interior framing, finish work and landscaping all are done by the volunteers, with guidance from a Habitat for Humanity construction crew.
“It’s a miracle to see everybody come here from everywhere to help build my home,” Robinson said. “It makes me really feel good.”
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/04/2150557/habitat-for-humanitys-has-building.html#ixzz1IgEh8CLx
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