THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996 TAG: 9610270053
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 73 lines
When Grace Haworth became upset over drug dealing and prostitution at three nearby rental houses, she took matters into her own hands.
Haworth bought the properties for $30,000.
But she didn't stop there. She gave them to Habitat for Humanity for development of two houses for low-income homebuyers.
One house already is being built, under the sponsorship of the Mid-Atlantic regional office of USAA, a property and casualty insurance company. Since Sept. 27, 15 to 30 volunteers from USAA have worked there three days a week.
The three-bedroom house, which sold for $42,000, is expected to be finished by Dec. 1. Habitat has developed 35 houses in South Hampton Roads, including 20 in Norfolk.
``Isn't this just beautiful,'' Haworth said recently, strolling to the site at 13th Bay Street and Pleasant Avenue, less than half a block from her house. ``It just helps everybody, and it sure helps me.''
That's typical of her philosophy about civic mindedness: doing for your community helps you in the long run. ``I get back more than I give,'' said Haworth.
Haworth started fretting over the corner properties about three years ago. The longtime owner had died, and the three rental houses were sold to another landlord.
The properties, however, soon began to deteriorate, Haworth contended. She said she watched drug dealers sell from the trunk of a parked car and prostitutes offer themselves from the porches and street corner.
``Eventually the city boarded it up, but that didn't mean anything. Every night someone would tear the boards off,'' Haworth said. ``It was a menace that nobody seemed to be able to control.''
Haworth said she bought the property in August of 1995, after the landlord lowered the price. She gave it to Habitat the same day. The nonprofit group demolished the old buildings last December.
``I thought it over ahead of time that I didn't want to do anything with it myself,'' said Haworth, who already owns some rental houses in Ocean View. ``But I wanted to have control over whatever happened, so I thought about Habitat for Humanity.''
The only conditions were that Habitat use the property for low-income homebuyers - not sell it for other development - and that most of the trees be saved. Haworth said she loves her neighborhood for its water oaks and pines.
``This is my little garden spot in Ocean View,'' said Haworth, a retired medical-records director for Lake Taylor Hospital.
Haworth has lived in her house since 1952, raising four sons, and accumulating 10 other single-family homes and two duplexes, all of which she rents out. She contracts with a company to screen prospective tenants and personally interviews each one, she said.
``Sure, I've had problems with some of them. Anybody who rents is going to have trouble once in a while,'' Haworth said. ``But I've never had any who sell drugs, and I've never had any shootings. My tenants are just hard-working people.''
Getting rid of the problem property, Haworth said, also protects occupants of her houses. ``They're not only my tenants,'' she said, ``they're my neighbors.''
Sylvia M. Hallock, executive director of the South Hampton Roads Habitat for Humanity, said her organization is excited about developing houses in East Ocean View because of Haworth.
``One of the things that we encourage among our buyers is good citizenship and being active in your communities,'' Hallock said. ``Grace is a strong role model for that . . . She's continued to work from within to try to keep her community strong.''
Haworth is active in the Police Assisted Community Enforcement community-policing program and has been president of the East Ocean View-Little Creek Improvement Association, a civic league.
``That's why I did it, to try to clean up my neighborhood, and my own immediate area, and hopefully to spur somebody else to want to do it, too,'' Haworth said. ``There are other people, lots of other people in this neighborhood, who are more able to do it than I am as far as finances are concerned and abilities.
``I thought this might open up a vision for them.'' by CNB