Habitat Option Shines in Dark Times

Maureen Brooks got the hang of painting and puttying right away. Putting up drywall got to be routine. And she describes raising the roof on her Northeast Washington home as "a joyful occasion, like something right out of 'Extreme Makeover.' "

But there were just a few little problems. "I was scared to death of the nail gun. And don't even get me started on the electric saw," said Brooks, who spent 300 hours helping build her Habitat for Humanity home last year. She went to settlement on her gray-sided duplex with a big front porch in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood in November.

As the economy has soured and home lending has dried up, more people are expressing interest in Habitat homes. The Habitat affiliate in Prince George's County has seen twice as many people packing into information meetings about obtaining housing, said Executive Director Charlene McCall. But at the same time, corporate donations are harder to come by. Corporate giving to the D.C. affiliate has dropped by nearly 50 percent since 2005, according to Daphne Makinson, the group's deputy director.

But Dennis Smyth, interim executive director for the D.C. affiliate, said individuals are increasing their donations, making up some of the shortfall, and that the group has no plans to cut back on construction. Habitat homes going up around the Washington area are designed not only to provide shelter but also to integrate green technology and reduce the effects of foreclosures on neighborhoods.

Volunteers are now working on six environmentally friendly homes down the block from Brooks's house with materials that emit fewer gases, reducing indoor air pollution. Appliances are energy efficient, and extra attention will be paid to insulation and eliminating drafts. Not only will the homes be healthier for their residents and the environment, Smyth said, but they are also designed to reduce residents' energy costs.

Urica Lewis hopes one of those homes will be hers in the next few months. Lewis, who is 28, moved into her mother's one-bedroom apartment with her 12-year-old daughter to save money for her home, which she expects will be completed this month. Lewis said she has been trying to find a way to become a homeowner since her daughter was a toddler.

In January, on the day before his inauguration, Vice President Biden helped hang drywall in the community.

"There are very few people who get to meet the vice president and build their own house at the same time," said Lewis, who works for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Habitat homes in Brooks's and Lewis's community are $173,800, below market price, because of donated material and labor. This month, four were assessed at $288,000.

While the homes are traditionally single-family houses or townhouses, the Northern Virginia Habitat affiliate branched out into building condos in 2007 to save on land costs. A 12-unit building with two- and four-bedroom units was completed last year in Fairfax, and a nine-unit condo building is under construction on the same street. The first-floor condos in each building are accessible for those with disabilities.

In Montgomery County, Habitat for Humanity has partnered with the county government to buy and rehabilitate 10 foreclosed homes in the Glenmont and Aspen Hill area, communities that have been hard hit by foreclosures.

"We were looking for innovative solutions to the crisis we have in foreclosed homes. As far as we can tell, this model has never been done before by a Habitat affiliate in the United States," said John Paukstis, executive director of the Montgomery County affiliate.

Habitat for Humanity has built more than 300,000 houses around the world since it began in 1976. Almost all of the work on the houses, except plumbing and electrical, is done by volunteers and home recipients, who also must meet income requirements, clean up their credit and take homeownership classes. Most Habitat homeowners get 25-year mortgages with zero interest and pay about 30 percent of their income for the mortgage payment.

"During our last information meeting, we had a room totally full of families. From that pool of people, about one out of 10 qualify," Paukstis said.

Carroll Thomas, 65, and his wife had health problems that made it difficult to get in all the "sweat equity" hours for their Habitat condo in Fairfax. But the community nature of the condos meant that future residents and volunteers stepped in to make up the time they could not.

"Our residents knew they'd live in such close quarters that they started to bond with each other during construction," said Karen Cleveland, executive director of the Northern Virginia affiliate.

That sense of community has held together. Thomas's wife, Denise, died two months after they moved into their condo in April, and Thomas had a heart attack in December. Neighbors have pitched in to check up on him and bring food.

"I am so proud of being a homeowner. I had hoped that my wife could have enjoyed more years with me here, but that wasn't to be. But I so appreciate what everyone has done for us," he said.

Brooks was inspired to go to her first Habitat meeting by her daughter, who owns a Habitat home a few blocks away from her. Brooks had years of bad credit to patch up, and Habitat worked with her to hammer out payment plans.

For 19 years, she lived in public housing in the Barry Farm area of Southeast Washington, and worked at Ballou High School.

"I've seen children start out walking into kindergarten, and they're in wheelchairs by the time they're in high school because there's so much shooting," she said.

Like most potential owners, Brooks didn't know exactly which home would be hers until shortly before its completion. She found out one evening, and she and her daughter drove to the community, counting houses in the dark as they passed them. She sat in the car a few minutes before she walked up to the porch of her new home. The neighborhood is safer, she said, and the house has bars on the windows and doors.

"When I got to the front door, I just stood there and cried and cried. I said, 'You do not know what I have been through, the heartache and the shootings and the killings. But now I am home, and I feel so blessed. ' "