Building Homes to Build Communities

Like the timeless Charles Dickens character Scrooge, I am truly blessed.

My memories surrounding holiday seasons past remain a powerful and wonderful part of my holiday present. As time goes by, future holiday seasons seem more promising than ever.

No Christmas ghosts are required to remind me of just how lucky I was, am and am likely to remain.

I remember pushing mounds of damp new-fallen snow around the frontyard with my father to make a snowman who truly seemed to have the power to come to life. I can smell the aroma of my mother’s freshly baked cookies, which my three brothers and I would colorfully, clumsily decorate to childlike perfection.

Sometimes we would get caught up in the moment during these magical, wonderful, exciting times and find it hard to imagine anyone else’s holiday season to be less joyous.

I ask myself not only why my holiday season is so different but also why my life is so blessed. I believe there is a thin line between us all. There is a small area of gray that separates those who have from those who have not.

I have spent more than 17 years working in the public nonprofit social services arena and recently moved to Ventura from Phoenix to take over the leadership of Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County. In the past, I’ve worked with child abusers, domestic violence offenders, drug addicts, alcoholics, gang members and numerous other downtrodden.

Over time, I have come to realize that there is one common denominator, one missing key ingredient common to all those less fortunate: At some point in their lives, usually during childhood, they were living without stable, affordable housing.

I have worked in this field long enough to realize that there is no magic bullet we can aim at social problems to instantly solve them. Increasingly, our society has become one of multi-generational homelessness and hopelessness.

How could anyone have a joyous Christmas when they have to spend each day worrying about whether they will ever be able to provide a safe, clean, affordable place for their children to live? Each day, holiday or not, becomes stressful.

Like Scrooge, whose Christmas nightmare began when he lost touch with his humanity by focusing entirely on making money, these families experience a loss of humanity and dignity by focusing entirely on their inability to provide the most fundamental of life’s needs: shelter.

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Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry dedicated to eliminating substandard housing and to making adequate, affordable shelter a matter of conscience and action. With donated land, labor and materials we build homes in partnership with low-income families, using the principles of “sweat equity” and no-profit, no-interest loans.

Habitat is not a giveaway program. The families repay the cost of construction and are required to contribute 500 hours of work toward the building of their homes.

By combining the power of volunteerism with the community’s willingness to build simple, decent homes for low-income families, we can impact many social ills. We work with families who want a “hand up” and not a handout. We welcome the help of skilled and unskilled volunteer laborers from all walks of life.

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When Habitat founders Millard and Linda Fuller first announced the mission of the organization, people scoffed. How could it be possible to eliminate all poverty and substandard housing in a community? The demand is just too great, critics said. It would take an unprecedented effort by civic leaders, businesses and the community to accomplish such a lofty goal.

But in September, Habitat for Humanity International reached two milestones. First, in southern Georgia’s Sumter County, during the Jimmy Carter Work Project, Habitat built its 100,000th home worldwide. Second, with the 100,001st home--named the Victory House--Habitat achieved the “unobtainable” and announced the end of poverty and substandard housing in Sumter County. Every person living there now has access to the affordable, simple, decent housing they need.

Ventura County is many miles from Sumter County. Because more people live here, the challenges facing us are much greater. The social and fiscal cost of addressing our housing dilemma is multiplied, but the big picture remains the same.

To date, we have built 17 homes in Ventura County and have another five under construction. Our plans are to complete an additional 11 in 2001. We need the support of donated land, materials and people power, but in the spirit of this holiday season I have a suggestion: Make a monetary donation to Habitat for Humanity, in lieu of a purchased holiday gift, in the name of a loved one.

By making this issue a matter of social conscience and action, we not only can provide a much-needed solution to this housing crisis, we can take action against the numerous and costly secondary social ills facing our community. A family that is stable in its living environment is less likely to need welfare services to address family or youth violence, teen pregnancy, alcoholism, drug abuse or problems in school.

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I’ve spent my career fighting the fraying of the social fiber in various communities. The current challenge, which affects the heart and soul of our community, is daunting. Accepting that challenge takes an act of faith.

Carrying out this act will require cooperation and community pride. We as a community can eliminate substandard housing, increase our property tax base by building new homes and potentially decrease the total cost of community services to families in distress.

It’s not simply about building homes; it’s about building a stronger community.

Upon waking from his nightmare on Christmas morning, Scrooge was challenged to begin making each day one of love, giving and hope for others. I challenge our community to awaken from our homelessness nightmare and begin today to make it a personal matter of social conscience to eliminate poverty housing in Ventura County.