She Squeezed In Hours
To Help Build Dream House

Shanna Green is not quite sure where she found the time to put in 300 hours helping to build a new house. She said she is both working and taking classes;d when she wasn’t hitting the books she put in time swinging a hammer.

In the end, Green’s dream of owning a home became a reality. A Wednesday evening ceremony formally dedicated her family’s new house at 12 Elliot Street in the Hill, the latest project to be completed by Habitat for Humanity of Greater New Haven.

Green and her children Aida and Rahim were on hand to accept the responsibility for the two-story, free-standing home. They plan to move in next week.

“For Shanna, it wasn’t just about owning a house, it’s about owning a home,” Deborah Watson, a former Habitat chapter president and a frequent volunteer, said during the dedication ceremony. After words of praise and blessing from volunteers and thanks from Green, the home was dedicated with the passing of a hammer and Bible to Green in the custom of Habitat, signifying the transfer of ownership and responsibility.

This is the 79th home built in the area by Habitat and the seventh built in partnership with community group Madison Cares. Madison Cares raises $50,000 for each project it participates in and provides volunteers. (Bank of America also served as a sponsor; two of its representatives attended the ceremony.)

Habitat efforts in New Haven are focused on the Hill and Newhallville. The group tends to pick vacant lots or single-family homes, which it can buy cheap from the city, Habitat President Bill Casey said. When a single property blights a block, Habitat tries to buy that property, Casey said, while in some cases entire blighted blocks have been purchased and rebuilt. Casey gave an example of a block on Rosette Street in the Hill, which was completely rebuilt by Habitat. (He added that Habitat International is the third-largest builder of homes in the United States.)

Orientation meetings held in likely neighborhoods encourage people to apply to participate in the program. Applicants must meet strict standards. Participants in Habitat must be in need of their own housing. They must have an income below a certain level. Their credit must be solid — a condition Casey said many otherwise eligible people have problems with. And they must be willing and able to add their own ​“sweat equity”: Each homeowner-to-be must put in 400 hours of work on the project. One hundred of those hours can be delegated to volunteers.

“We’re not just builders. They work with us building the house,” Casey said. ​“The partnership doesn’t just last while we’re building.”

Pedro Castro, whose Habitat-built house at 23 Wilson St. was completed two years ago, called working on the house (along with Madison Cares volunteers) a ​“wonderful experience.”

“But,” he added, ​“I definitely understand why they call it sweat equity.”

Green said that a visit to an orientation meeting convinced her to apply. She agreed that working on the project was a ​“great experience,” but admitted that it was difficult at times to put in the time she needed to.

“I got in a day here and a day there,” Green said.

Casey said Habitat purchased the formerly vacant lot at 12 Elliott St. from New Haven for $1,000. Ground was broken last Sept. 25. The project took longer than usual because of the unusually severe winter.

Habitat sells houses to owners at a low price, Casey said. The group gives owners a 0 percent mortgage for 25 years. A house down the block at 45 Elliott will soon be dedicated, and two more nearby on Orchard Street will be complete soon, according to Casey.

Casey said Habitat has big plans; the group now owns four lots and wants to buy five more. Green is planning to be a part of them.

“I’ll go back and volunteer to help others,” she said.

Castro affirmed that owners helped by Habitat remain involved with the group, citing his own presence at the dedication of Green’s house as an example.

“I come to every dedication they have,” Castro said. ​“It’s like family, so to speak.”