Press Release

Orange County donors and volunteers build 14 homes for Katrina families

One Year Ago - One United Effort - One Purpose.
We Will Rebuild

Santa Ana, CA, August 29, 2006--

Proving that the power of many with one purpose can make a difference, Habitat for Humanity of Orange County thanks its volunteers and supporters for their generous help in building 14 homes for low-income families along the Gulf Coast who lost their homes during the 2005 hurricanes.

On this one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the 14 Habitat "Home in a Box" kits funded by Orange County donors, built by volunteers in Orange County, and shipped to families from the Gulf Coast who were affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, are being completed and families are moving in.

Habitat for Humanity of Orange County joined the efforts to rebuild through Operation Home Delivery (OHD). OHD was created in response to local citizens, churches, school children and corporations who were looking for a way to help. With over $1 million of support from Orange County, volunteers started the building of the first Habitat "Home in a Box" in October 2005 at the International Auto Show in Anaheim.

After this first home, a group of volunteers formed Habitat for Humanity of Orange County Operation Home Delivery and worked steadily, leading building teams from October 2005 to March 2006, when the last house was shipped. The 14 Habitat "Home in a Box" kits built in Orange County were shipped to families in the following cities: Covington, LA - one home; Dallas, TX - six homes; and Beaumont, TX - seven homes. The all-volunteer Orange County team was lead by Charlie Walker with the support of Dick Payne, construction; Molly Hunter, logistics; Alison Winston, volunteers; and, Karen Thoms, public relations.

"We are grateful for the outpouring of support we have received from donors and volunteers after the devastating hurricanes," said Charlie Walker, Director of Operation Home Delivery for Habitat for Humanity of Orange County. "Habitat for Humanity is truly blessed by those who work to make simple, decent and affordable housing possible in partnership with families in need."

Immediately after Hurricane Katrina and then after Hurricane Rita, Habitat for Humanity International's Operation Home Delivery program began putting plans in place to help low-income families in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama affected by the storms build homes as part of the region's long-term reconstruction. By the summer of 2007, the organization expects to have built 1,000 houses along the Gulf.

On a national level, Habitat for Humanity's Operation Home Delivery has begun construction or completed nearly 400 homes with the help of more than 14,000 volunteers from across the United States and Canada.

"Our strategy is, and always has been, to work through local Habitat affiliates and communities and to develop partnerships with organizations to help low-income families build simple, decent homes and recover," said Ken Meinert, senior vice president of Operation Home Delivery for Habitat for Humanity International. "There is much that has been accomplished but much more work to do."

About the families

The first Habitat "Home in a Box" was built in the parking lot of the Anaheim Convention Center and shipped by truck and train to Covington, LA. Sarah Davenport and her two children will soon call this their home. Though the house built by volunteers has been completed for months, the Davenports can not move in because the city has not fixed the water lines and installed water meters. While she waits, Sarah goes to her home every day and waters her flower garden. A target date of September 17, 2006, which is National Neighborhood Day, has been set as Sarah's tentative move-in date.

Several hurricane-affected families are packing their belongings this week and moving into their new homes. In Beaumont, TX where seven of the Orange County supplied homes were shipped, construction is complete and families are moving in. "It took a long time but we're finally here," said new homeowner, Janis Wyatt. The Wyatts have been making plans for their new home ever since they found out they were approved to purchase a Habitat home. Wyatt said, "I didn't know there was so much that went into building a house. We have been building on it from the frame up, and it has been neat to see how it all goes together."

Their Orange County Habitat "Home in a Box" was sponsored by Wet Seal Inc. The house is a dream come true for future homeowner Janis Wyatt. Wyatt is a single mom, raising three children and one grandchild, with another on the way. Her rental house was completely destroyed by a tree during Hurricane Rita. Wyatt was very glad that she and her family evacuated. The landlord is uninterested in fixing her house, and it still sits today the way it looked after the hurricane. She had no insurance to replace the contents of her home. Wyatt and her family are now living with her sister, a Habitat homeowner also, who has four in her house already. Wyatt works at a plumbing business in the Beaumont area. Daughter Courtney is 13 years old and attends the 7th grade. Michael is seven years old and is in the second grade. Heather is 22 and works at a daycare center. Heather's daughter, Auza-rae, is two years old, enjoys digging and could be seen sitting on a cooler at the work site hugging her care bear.

Luvenza and Cleveland Young with daughter Dimitra Young and her three children -- Brandon (10), Sabrina (9) and Kaylon (8) - are currently living in two FEMA trailers because the house they owned was totalled by Hurricane Rita. They will be the "grandparents" of the neighborhood, with one of their children and her family living in this Habitat community. Their Habitat "Home in a Box" was sponsored by Orange County's Laing Luxury Homes.

The rental home of the Palomo family - husband, wife and four children - was OK after the hurricane, but their landlord's was not. The landlord was uninsured, so he told the Palomos to give him $15,000 for their house immediately or he was putting it up for sale and they would have to move out. The Palomos didn't have the $15,000, so they had to move into a small apartment, and their rented house was sold. The Palomo's Habitat "Home in a Box" was one of two homes sponsored by Orange County's Custom Building Products and their employees.

Eddie and Celethia Edwards and their four children -- Eddie Jr. (9), Sabrail (7) (girl), Timothy (2) and Jeremiah (9 months) - lived in a rented house that was damaged by the hurricane, causing several leaks throughout the house. There was also extensive mold damage that was causing respiratory illness in the children.

Lisa Esclovon is the single mother of five children. Her house had serious damage to the roof resulting in large holes. The landlord didn't feel they merited repair. So rain continued to fall into the house causing mold to grow and small animals like rats to move in.

Roland and Mary Simon have three children: Darerius (12), Dustin (6) and Charity (3). Mary and Roland just married recently. Prior to the marriage, Mary was staying with family and Roland had a homestead where they were all going to move. This house was damaged by Rita and then caught fire due to the electrical problems related to the hurricane damage. Thus, they were left without a place to move into and were crammed into a small apartment.

"Operation Home Delivery" is a three-phase response to help provide assistance for families and rebuilding opportunities in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of the hurricanes. The Habitat homes will be built for qualified families who have been impacted by the recent hurricanes in the Gulf Coast region. The homes are "pre-built" locally and shipped to the impacted areas in containers as part of the Habitat "Home in a Box" program. Other homes will be built on site from the ground up, with trips organized for volunteers to travel to the regions affected to facilitate the construction of new homes for families impacted by the hurricane disasters. For more information about Operation Home Delivery, please contact Charlie Walker at
Katrina.relief@habitatoc.org or call (714) 434-6200, ext. 215.

Beaumont Habitat for Humanity is the 6th oldest Habitat affiliate in the United States. Affiliate volunteers build modest, affordable homes in partnership with motivated families who cannot afford conventional or government-backed mortgages. Founded in 1979, Beaumont Habitat for Humanity has built and sold 45 houses, providing decent homes to many area families.

In 2006, Beaumont Habitat for Humanity is participating in the Operation Home Delivery program created by Habitat International in response to the hurricanes that ravaged the Gulf Coast this past summer. Through this program, Beaumont Habitat will build close to 30 Habitat houses this year. To qualify for homeownership, an applicant's annual income needs to be between 50% and 80% of median income and the applicant's home needed to have been affected by the hurricane. Applicant meetings are being held regularly to process families for Habitat homeownership. Call (409) 832-5853, or send an email at
beaumonthabitat@yahoo.com

About Habitat for Humanity of Orange County

Celebrating 20 years of changing lives and changing communities in Orange County. 130 houses built in Orange County
Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, headquartered in Santa Ana, CA, is dedicated to ending substandard housing and building strong communities in Orange County. Habitat uses non-government donations of funding, materials, professional services and volunteer labor to build simple, decent homes which are sold to qualified low-income families for a 1% down payment, closing costs, and a zero-interest mortgage. Mortgage payments are recycled to build more Habitat homes. Habitat families contribute 500 hours of "sweat equity" to the program by building their own home, helping another Habitat family build a home, or working in some other area of the Habitat organization. Habitat for Humanity families and volunteers have built 130 homes in Orange County since 1988, and are currently building eight homes in San Juan Capistrano.

27 homes to be built in San Juan Capistrano
Habitat for Humanity of Orange County’s Habitat for Heroes and Foundations for Families™ development of 27 homes at the end of Calle Rolando will be built in phases.  Framing for the first four homes began on July 2, 2008.  The second four homes were framed on October 3, 2008.  Funding for the land on which these homes are being built was donated by the City of San Juan Capistrano Redevelopment Agency.  Funds for building these homes have been generously donated by The HTN Foundation; Bank of America; the Orange County Realtors Partnership, which consists of the Orange County Association of REALTORS®, Laguna Board of REALTORS®, and Newport Beach Association of REALTORS®; an anonymous donor;  the Steve Tisch Foundation; Toshiba America Business Solutions; the Presbyterian Partnership; St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point; Hyundai Motor America; the Van Cleve Foundation; and more than a thousand other local donors.

300,000 houses built worldwide
Habitat for Humanity of Orange County is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, an ecumenical Christian housing ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat International has built more than 300,000 houses worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1.5 million people. Habitat for Humanity International is currently the 16th largest homebuilder in the United States, according to Builder OnLine magazine.

For more information about Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, please call (714) 434-6200 extension 229 or visit our Web site at habitatoc.org.

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