Habitat Houses Make Way Down to Gulf Coast
Habitat for Humanity's Operation Home Delivery is moving along the Mississippi River with the addition of 10 new house frames built for the Katrina affected people in the Gulf Coast.
Two weeks into the project that was launched in St. Paul, Minn., Habitat volunteers just completed putting together the frames of the last house in St. Louis and have placed them on a deck barge that is headed down the river toward Memphis.
Volunteers made it out to the construction scene Saturday afternoon at the foot of the St. Louis Arch where they began their 40-hour project with lumber and a power saw.
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The 10-house blitz had people cutting lumber and nailing studs for 40 hours nonstop as many wanted to express their compassion for the affected people in the storm-devastated regions.
"Everyone's been calling since the hurricane first hit, saying 'What's Habitat going to do?'" said Kimberly McKinney, executive director of Habitat St. Louis, in a released statement. "I'm just glad that the volunteers are finally getting to do something for Katrina."
While Habitat volunteers wanted to provide support to the storm victims right on scene, the lack of infrastructure in the damaged areas did not allow for large-scale house-building activities.
With a heart to assist the Gulf Coast regions and keep volunteers out of harm's way, Habitat birthed Operation Home Delivery where house frames are built along the river and shipped on a barge down the Mississippi River to the hard-hit Gulf Coast.
Unlike the traditional house building that Habitat has devoted to since 1976, Operation Home Delivery serves as a whole new model of building.
"The big difference is not having the relationship with the partner family," said McKinney. "Those people (affected by the hurricanes) have nothing, and if we can do anything to help them out, we don't necessarily need to know who they are. Normally, our partner family would be out here with us, hammering and nailing."
The Habitat barge is scheduled to arrive in Memphis on Nov. 14 and Baton Rouge, Nov. 21.
