What is Operation Home Delivery?

The enormity of last fall’s Gulf Coast disaster has been hard to comprehend. More than 300,000 families in the region lost their homes. And, sadly, the hurricanes exposed the reality of poverty in America.

According to Harry Connick Jr., honorary Chair of “Operation Home Delivery,” “we saw, in all its horrific detail, the vulnerabilities of living in inadequate housing and the heartbreak of losing one’s home.”

Habitat for Humanity Int’l has responded to the disaster by launching “Operation Home Delivery.” With a goal of constructing 1,000 homes by mid-summer of 2007, this aggressive plan is intended to kick start the region’s home building efforts.

While the Gulf Coast Habitat affiliates work to regain their original capabilities, Habitat offices nationwide are assisting by constructing panelized wall components which will be transported to the Gulf Coast.

When the appropriate infrastructure is in place, and once land becomes available, building and zoning issues are resolved and families are qualified, these wall panels will be assembled into homes.

As of April 2006, more than 200 new homes are inhabited or being constructed in partnership with hurricane-affected families. The total number of these “Habitat homes in boxes” planned has exceeded 400.

Want to know more? Read about the nationwide Habitat disaster response to the hurricanes of 2005.

In just one day, the framing for a three-bedroom home was completed and loaded on a truck to be sent to the Nettles family in Beaumont, Texas, who was left homeless by Hurricane Rita last fall. The skies were sunny and beautiful over Chatham even though nearby towns suffered downpours of rain.

Construction manager Mark Bippes and project coordinator Liz DeCoursey led about 100 volunteers in building dozens of house panels as part of Habitat International’s “Operation Home Delivery” program, set up to accelerate the rebuilding of homes in the Gulf Coast. In addition to the house building, the day also included birdhouse and window box building to let younger children help many Habitat families in Texas.

The Garden State Quilting Club donated all the materials necessary to build a 6' x 6' Welcome Home Quilt. One hundred seven-inch squares were decorated with messages from people who come to volunteer or see the event. Club members will assemble the quilt later and ship it to the family in Beaumont. Five area musicians provided great live entertainment: Jack Tannehill, Jake Stigers, Patrick Fitzsimmons, Denny Tilton and Peter Karp. The Salvation Army from Union supplied breakfast and lunch for the volunteers. Members of the Chatham Public Works Department set up barriers and garbage cans and provided a generator, and the Chatham United Methodist Church provided access to electricity and bathrooms.

By 3:00 p.m., the house panels were completed. The house raising ceremony included a blessing by Pastor Tanya Bennett from the Chatham United Methodist Church and the singing of “God Bless America” and “We Are the World,” led by the Chatham Girl Scouts. Then home panels, window boxes, bird houses, and 40 donated bicycles were packed in a container and transported to Texas by Maersk.

This house is one of a group of 24 to be re-assembled in Beaumont, Texas. A brand-new street has been built to accommodate a 24-house addition to an existing Habitat neighborhood. Construction of these houses began at the end of April. The slab for the Morris house has been poured and construction will start in June. The Beaumont Habitat affiliate plans to build close to 30 homes in 2006, all Homes in a Box. The homeowner for the Morris house will be Alice Nettles, a single mom with kids in college. Her former home that she had inherited from her family was left uninhabitable by the devastating damage of Hurricane Rita.

This wonderfully successful project was coordinated by a volunteer team of friends that became known as the “Fab Four:” Grace Foca, Mary Lonergan, Ellen Blazoski, and Ann Whitman. Grace Foca grew up in Beaumont and still has relatives living there.

The 2nd Annual Anniversary House Gala fundraiser on November 4th contributed the final $30,000 to the $75,000 house sponsorship cost. This cost includes (but is not limited to) community development, family selection and support, land acquisition, site development and servicing costs, as well as construction materials and any professional services which may be needed.

The largest donation of nearly $16,000 came from funds raised through a walkathon by students of Deerfield Elementary School in Short Hills. The West Morris Central High School Habitat Campus Chapter raised $10,000 at a school dance, and they also supplied 200 2x4s and a busload of volunteers to build the house and clean up. Dreyer’s Lumber & Hardware supplied all wood at cost, and Maersk donated all shipping costs.

Our second Home in a Box was built with Maersk employee volunteers on September 29, 2006. It will be assembled in Houston, Texas, to provide a new home for a family affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Thanks to the many generous sponsors of the Home in a Box.

View pictures from the event in a new window.