Volunteers to Replace Quake-Damaged Newhall Home

Habitat for Humanity is putting on a “blitz.”

That’s what the community service organization is calling its effort to replace John Novak’s earthquake-damaged home in Newhall.

The group, whose most famous volunteer is former President Jimmy Carter, is seeking plumbers, electricians, air-conditioning specialists and other volunteers for work on the 1,150-square-foot home, which is scheduled to begin in late October.

Donations of materials are also being requested.

Novak’s damaged home will be razed. Construction on the new home for Novak, who is 76, is expected to be completed by Thanksgiving.

Novak’s home was declared uninhabitable after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. His emergency housing assistance from the federal government will soon run out, and he has no money or family to fall back on, said Helena Delu, the earthquake recovery program manager for Habitat for Humanity of the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys.

Delu said Novak had “no other options.”

Even if he had sold his property, by the time Novak paid for demolition and other costs, little would be left for him to live on, she said.

“Habitat works for people as a last resort,” Delu said.

In exchange, Novak will put in 500 hours of “sweat equity,” including preparing lunch for volunteers and working at the Habitat office in North Hollywood.

The project is the group’s first total building effort in the city of Santa Clarita, although Habitat has been active in the area before.

It helped to repair the roof and cracked walls at another earthquake-damaged home in Newhall. The group will continue working on that two-bedroom home where nine people live.