After more than a year of construction, the latest Habitat for Humanity build is in the home stretch of completion, with work now moving inside in preparation for a spring handover.
“It’s going well. Fern (Paulhus, construction manager) has been working extremely hard out there with some volunteers,” said chapter lead Donna Watts. “… the outside is pretty much done. They have all the drywall up (inside) and they’re ready to paint.”
The duplex at 1015 Ominica Street East will house two families: one single mother with three children and one single mother with five kids. The plan is to hand over the keys in April or May, although whether the typical large presentation will happen is unknown.
One homeowner has already performed the prerequisite 500 hours of work on the home — “Amazing,” said Watts — while the second homeowner is working on completing her hours while also volunteering with other organizations to build up that time.
Habitat for Humanity work sites usually swarmed with volunteer groups supporting the project in pre-pandemic times. However, health restrictions this year meant only a few volunteers could work with Paulhus. Still, that was appreciated.
“We’re very grateful for the people who come out to volunteer over the past year-and-a-half … ,” Watts said. “Fern is taking the next month off, so we won’t have any volunteer opportunities for people in the next month. So, the build site will be closed.”
The reduction in volunteer help was due to many factors, such as pandemic restrictions, people’s comfort levels and Paulhus’ comfort level with volunteers on site, she continued. She praised the construction manager for going “above and beyond” this year, especially since it was just him working there at times.
She also commended Paulhus for keeping the project on track.
“It must be hard for him a lot of time, but it was unexpected this year and he’s been able to do a great job and make the best of it,” Watts said, adding even one extra volunteer would make a difference in helping Paulhus with some tasks.
Watts suggested that the community can support this Habitat for Humanity build by sharing its social media posts, donating money, or bringing Paulhus a cup of coffee.
