Faith Building Faith Building (April 27, 2001)

St. Timothy's lends a helping hand through Habitat for Humanity

By Amy Goodpaster Strebe

Parishioners at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Mountain View have been busy since last September helping Peninsula Habitat for Humanity build 36 townhouses in Redwood City.

The project, which is located at 3426-3498 Rolison Road, will be dedicated on June 30, when the first six families move in.

For Mary Ann Luce, a parishioner at St. Timothy's who has volunteered for Habitat both locally and abroad, the critical need for affordable housing in the Bay Area makes the work the organization does that much more crucial.

"I'm a homebody, I guess, and I feel that it's important that people have the opportunity to live in a home," she said.

Over the past five years the church has helped to build housing in Alviso, East Palo Alto, San Jose, Campbell and Redwood City. Individual parish members have also worked in Yakima, Wash., Oakland, Poland and Papua New Guinea.

An unusual feature of the Redwood City project is its wiring. In partnership with Cisco Systems, Habitat has wired almost every room in the townhouses for Internet and telephone access. This model could become a prototype for low-income housing worldwide, according to Jacquey Carey, administration director for Peninsula Habitat for Humanity, one of five Habitat chapters in the Bay Area.

Carey said that Habitat hopes to build an additional 200 homes in the next five years in San Mateo County.

"We're working hard because we recognize that the need for affordable housing is so tremendous in this area," she said. "Because the land is so expensive and scarce here it takes us longer to find opportunities."

She added that the difficult conditions "make us more thoughtful and mindful of the process, and promote greater creativity in the design and building of the homes."

On April 28 approximately 10 volunteers from the church will spend the day working at the site.

Roy Hayter, who leads the Habitat for Humanity activities at St. Timothy's, has been involved in several past projects in the area.

"You don't need to know how to build homes or have any experience to help out," Hayter said. "All skill levels are welcome."

Luce worked on projects last summer in Alaska and in Papua New Guinea, where she led a women's group in building a home. She is currently seeking volunteers for another project in Papua New Guinea for two weeks this August. Because the village has electricity for only seven hours each day, no power tools will be used.

"I really enjoy doing the physical work," Luce said. "I've gotten pretty good at hammering and painting. It's fun to work with the other volunteers."

Carey said that Peninsula Habitat for Humanity is looking forward to the June dedication in Redwood City. "That's always an exciting time for us," she said. For more information on Habitat for Humanity projects, contact Peninsula Habitat for Humanity at 324-2266, or visit the organization's Web site at www.habitat.org. Anyone interested in the Papua New Guinea work trip this summer can call Mary Ann Luce at 961-2184 or e-mail her at maluce@juno.com.<$>