THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 30, 1996 TAG: 9605250215
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT McCASKEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 84 lines
When a group of Navy volunteers helping to build a home for a needy Norfolk family were called away on a mission, a second team of sailors came to the rescue.
Armed with saws, hammers, paint brushes and good will, for the last three weeks seamen from the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt have teamed up with other citizens to complete the home.
``This is a great way to help someone,'' said Richard Whigham, a personnelman first class on the ship. ``Plus, it's a great change of pace from sitting in an office.''
The new 1,200-square-foot house at 836 W. 35th St. is a project of the South Hampton Roads Habitat for Humanity organization, a non-profit group that forms community partnerships with churches and businesses to provide home ownership for working, low-income residents.
Kristine Rand, vice president of the organization and project manager for the home, said the Navy often helps with Habitat sites.
``The Navy comes through,'' Rand said. ``The first group we had working got sent out on a mission, but another came in right behind them.''
Chief Dave Parker, a member of the rescue team, has been putting in a lot of time at the site.
``When we're not at sea, we're here,'' Parker said.
The four-bedroom, 1 1/2-bathroom home was scheduled to be finished last weekend, with the new homeowners, Lucinda and Antonio Barnes and their four children, expected to be moved in earlier this week. The family has been living in an apartment at 37th Street and Llewellyn Avenue.
``It's going to be beautiful,'' Lucinda Barnes said, carrying a bag of cement to the driveway of the nearly completed house. ``We're packed and ready to move in.''
The project was started in early May. By mid-month, workers were in high gear.
``We're doing a blitz build,'' said Rand, who has logged many 10-hour days coordinating activities from a tent/command center in the home's back yard. ``Some Habitat homes can take six months, but I'm a mom, and I have to have some time for my kids. Plus, the longer a structure stands unfinished, the more chance there is for theft and vandalism.''
Rand says there's no quality cutting in the quick construction:
``There's nothing pre-fab, all the materials and workmanship are good. We always call in the Navy for blitz builds. All their battles aren't fought at sea.''
But the Navy, the Barnes family and Rand haven't been the only people working to complete the home. Churches sponsoring the project have recruited many volunteers.
Maria Reyes and Carroll Ann Roberts of First Presbyterian Church spent one afternoon painting baseboards supported by sawhorses standing in mud some six inches deep.
``The rain has kind of slowed us down, but we're making progress,'' Roberts said .
In addition to man and woman power, businesses have donated equipment and supplies for the site. Plumbing, lumber, bricks and backhoes are among the long list of items. The Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority donated the land for the home.
The financial thrust of the project comes from supporting churches. First, Second and Third Presbyterian churches, Covenant Presbyterian Church, Calvin Presbyterian Church, Freemason Street Baptist Church and Royster Memorial Presbyterian Church have conducted fund-raisers to raise approximately $27,000, with the rest of the estimated $40,000 cost being made up by other donations.
Habitat has built 27 homes in South Hampton Roads since its local inception is 1988, Rand said. At least 15 are scheduled for 1996, seven in Norfolk.
The Barneses applied for the Habitat program three years ago. To qualify, applicants must be classified as low income, generally earning less than $26,000 for a family of six. The recipients must be gainfully employed and have reasonable credit. Lucinda Barnes works as a health care aide at In Home Health in Virginia Beach. Antonio Barnes is employed at Kempsville Building Materials in Virginia Beach.
Another eligibility requirement is that applicants must have worked at least 400 hours on other Habitat sites. Lucinda Barnes has put in more than 600 hours.
The Barneses will pay the Habitat organization a $500 down payment the first year, with a no-interest monthly mortgage of about $260 for 14 years.
``I'm a little biased, but I think this is the best house Habitat has ever built,'' Lucinda Barnes said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by RICHARD L. DUNSTON
Herbert Clanton Jr., left, a volunteer from St. Andrew's Church, and
Tony Mapp, from the carrier Theodore Roosevelt, spread concrete. by CNB