Volunteers are making habit of Habitat

Two blocks from Elizabeth Epperson's Henderson home, a youth baseball team practices after dinner. Children ride their bikes through the working-class neighborhood, and families visit in front yards.

To Epperson, the scene, not far from Boulder Highway and Sunset Road, is idyllic compared with the low-income housing complex near Eastern and Searles avenues where she and her two children previously lived. Patrolled by armed security guards, her former complex sits amid gang territory.

"It's definitely better to raise your kids in a home than government housing," said the 34-year-old single mother who for six years has been busing tables in the employee cafeteria of a local hotel.

Epperson and her two children were the 13th among 21 families to move into homes made available by Habitat for Humanity of Las Vegas. Epperson was supporting her family on $8 an hour when she purchased the home 2 1/2 years ago.

In a town where tidy tract housing awaits thousands of families flocking to the area for golden opportunities, Habitat is hoping to see more success stories for those living in substandard conditions.

By becoming more visible and increasing interest among organizations, corporations, unions and church groups, Habitat has quadrupled its number of homes being built each year.

The nonprofit uses corporate funding, in-kind donations and volunteer labor to build and sell homes to the working poor.

No two-house limit

Since becoming affiliated with Habitat for Humanity International in 1991, it had been building two homes a year. With the additional sponsorship, eight homes will be completed this year, and 10 homes will be built in 2001.

"We were frustrated building two houses a year," said Jim Evans, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Las Vegas. "We said we need to do more."

Three years ago the organization began building relationships with the corporate community. And two years ago the city of Las Vegas and Clark County each contributed $150,000 to buy 10 lots. The effort is part of a revitalization project in a West Las Vegas neighborhood known as Vegas Heights.

"There are so many people who need help," Evans said. "There are a lot of entry-level employees, hotel industry people who don't make very much. A lot of single moms."

A recent survey by UNLV's Center for Business and Economic Research showed that 10.5 percent of county households reported making under $15,000. More than 7 percent reported making between $15,000 and $19,999.

"These people end up living in substandard housing or housing not conducive to raising families," Evans said. "One woman lived above a pool house in a trailer park."

Two-thirds of Habitat's homeowners are single mothers, he said. "It's probably the demographic that needs the most help."

Companies get involved with Habitat for Humanity because the program works, Evans said. "And because it's not a handout."

The idea that people are receiving a free house is a popular misconception, he said. "These are working people that just need a little help. If you're making $25,000 a year for a family of four, that's not much."

Three members of Vista Volunteers -- an organization that places individuals with community-based agencies -- have joined the operation, bringing the Habitat staff to sevens. Dick Clemmons, a retired schoolteacher and one of the Vista Volunteers, works on small projects during the week. Volunteer groups help with larger projects on the weekends.

'Sweat equity'

Each home costs $62,500. Buyers put in 450 hours of "sweat equity" building their home and other homes in the community.

A monthly orientation draws 20 families each time. Out of that, usually one fits the criteria, Evans said.

Qualifying for a home is a pretty rigorous process, he said. The financial criteria is very limited. The head of household must be employed and have financial resources to make monthly mortgage payments. The minimum family income must be $12,000. The maximum is $20,750 for a family of two and $30,100 for a family of six.

For those who qualify, Habitat serves as a construction company, a mortgage company, a fund-raising arm and social service provider. There is a 1 percent down payment. A no-interest loan is provided. The monthly mortgage payment varies by income.

Lodged between a hair salon and an upholstery store and adjacent to an abandoned building, the small Habitat office is, for many, where dreams come true.

A calendar in the hallway lists groups scheduled to work Saturdays for the next three months. Slats of drywall signed by church members lean against a wall near the back of the office.

"Christ Lutheran Church welcomes you to your new home," reads one. The slats, representing 10 Lutheran congregations that make up the Lutheran Coalition, will be placed in homes. Each church donated $2,000 and a work team, and the drywall slats, which eventually are painted, represent that sponsorship.

At other houses under construction, names of sponsors are posted on a sign on the work site. Among the biggest sponsors are Bank of America, Household Bank, TRW and the Clark County Bar Association.

Epperson, who is a full-time student at the Community College of Southern Nevada in addition to working full time, said having a home has been an improvement for her family. "I'm not as worried about my children going out to play and getting shot."

Ownership opportunity

Considering the amount of money she was making, Epperson said she never thought she would own a house. The Nevada resident of 22 years first had to clear up her credit and find time between her classes to work out her sweat equity. But it was worth it, she said.

"It was our Christmas present that year. We moved in one week before Christmas. I had gone to return the rental truck. By the time I came back, my friends had already set up the furniture."

In Vegas Heights, four recently built homes stand out in the older neighborhood that hasn't seen much economic growth. Across the street fluorescent spray paint marks new addresses of homes in progress.

"It's rewarding to see a vacant lot turn into a home," said Jessie Bush, a father of three and owner of one of those homes. Bush is disabled but self-employed and doing limited work. His wife works full time. "All of this is an improvement," he said, standing in one of the homes under construction. "The lot across the street," he said, pointing to his completed home, "was vacant for 27 years."

Houses are built wherever affordable land is found, Evans said. The intersection of Hassel and Concord in Vegas Heights, where seven new homes are under way, previously had three vacant lots.

Down the street, a mason block home is under construction. The house of bricks and cinder blocks was begun by the Mason Contractors Association during its convention earlier this year and now awaits only a roof and finishing work. It stands next to two foundations on a dirt lot -- other future Habitat homes.

"Since this happened, everybody around here starting working on their own houses," Bush said. Neighbors are fixing up old empty houses putting them on the market, he said.

"This whole neighborhood is coming up. I'm getting ready to start a Neighborhood Watch."

Habitat tries to build houses together on plots of land, rather than scatter them independently throughout neighborhoods, Evans said. Each house takes about six months to complete.

Because the new homeowners contribute to building each other's homes as part of their sweat equity, there is a ready-made community by the time families move in, Evans said.

At Bush's home, white patio chairs sit in the shade next to a coiled garden hose by a front door.

"For people struggling and willing to do something for themselves, this is a grand opportunity," said Bush, a first-time buyer who previously lived in government housing. "You are able to become a first-time homeowner.

"I came up in the street," he said. "To have this type of lifestyle is right on the money.

"It's top of the line knowing the money you put into it will benefit you and your family. My kids enjoy saying 'My mom and dad built this house.' "

archive