Issue date: September 29, 1999

Home raising: Menlo's Habitat for Humanity volunteers to erect six homes Home raising: Menlo's Habitat for Humanity volunteers to erect six homes (September 29, 1999)

Christine Walters will only have to wait a little while longer before she and her child and niece join five other families in watching the pieces of their homes come together like a giant three-dimensional puzzle.

With the help of several strong-armed volunteers, the walls and roofs of six homes will be erected over a six-day period, starting October 4.

Once in place, the new neighborhood off Lincoln Avenue near El Camino Real in Redwood City will be dedicated to the late Tom Ford, Portola Valley resident and philanthropist, who made significant contributions to Peninsula Habitat for Humanity.

The project, known as an "accelerated build," is being organized by the Menlo Park-based Peninsula Habitat for Humanity and is the focus of a week-long event volunteers call "Raise the Roofs."

Taking its cue from old-fashioned barn raisings, the celebration will kick off at 8:30 a.m. Monday, October 4, with a song from Woodside resident and famed folk singer Joan Baez, as well as a few words from organization leaders.

Susan Ford will accept the dedication of the project in the name of her late husband.

The closing ceremonies on Sunday, October 10, will include a block party of volunteers and guests. Local musical duo Tuck & Patti are scheduled to perform from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on that day.

10 years of building

The event marks 10 years of work in San Mateo County by the Peninsula branch of Habitat for Humanity International, an interfaith nonprofit housing program headquartered in Americus, Georgia.

The accelerated build also draws attention to the state of today's housing market, said Executive Director Mark Moulton.

"Our mission is to build houses with families as volunteers but the second part is to put housing on the hearts and minds of people in the community," said Mr. Moulton.

Since 1989, Peninsula Habitat for Humanity has worked in partnership with very low income families to build houses they would not be able to afford on their own.

To date, the organization has completed 11 single-family homes, a 24-unit condominium complex in East Palo Alto, and a few homes in Menlo Park, providing homes for about 36 families.

The lucky six

Ms. Walters competed with 200 families in applying for one of the six, three-bedroom homes to be built on a new street -- Hope Lane, off of Lincoln Avenue. The numbers were narrowed down to 75 families who attended an informational meeting about the project. Finally, the six families were chosen. The key criteria are income levels and how willing the families are to help build the homes.

Ms. Walters and other Habitat homeowners had to put in at least 500 hours of "sweat equity" by rolling up her shirt sleeves and picking up a hammer along with other volunteers. Habitat for Humanity provides families with zero-interest mortgages, with the families paying about 30 percent of their household income for their homes. Those funds are then placed in Habitat's Fund for Humanity to build additional homes for other low income families.

Taking it in

Ms. Walters, whose family includes a disabled son and a niece for whom she is legally responsible, said she couldn't be more excited.

"I'll probably just sit down on the couch, look around me and go 'oh my god, it's mine, it's actually mine.' I'll just sit there and take it all in."

She's moving from a two-bedroom apartment, crowded with her disabled son's medical equipment, where they lived for almost 10 years. She never imagined she would one day be a homeowner.