Habitat for Humanity volunteer John Calkin sands newly installed sheetrock at the Union Beach residence of Ron Reda on Feb. 7. Numerous Habitat for Humanity volunteers have stepped up to help repair and rebuild central New Jersey homes that were damaged by Sandy. JEFF GRANIT staff When superstorm Sandy made landfall and changed the lives of so many residents, it also caused some established volunteer organizations to rework their protocols as they were called to action during a time of severe crisis.
Through volunteers and donations of materials and funding, the nonprofit Habitat for Humanity provides decent, affordable houses for qualifying people worldwide who can’t afford to purchase a new home on their own. New Jersey has several Habitat chapters — Coastal Habitat for Humanity in Spring Lake Heights; Habitat for Humanity of Northeast Monmouth County, Little Silver; Western Monmouth Habitat for Humanity, Freehold; Middlesex County Habitat for Humanity, Woodbridge and Spotswood; and Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity in Toms River.
Habitat for Humanity volunteers work on Ron Reda’s flood-damaged house in Union Beach. Habitat arranged for local and out-of-state volunteers to work on the house so the Reda family can return home. JEFF GRANIT staff When Maureen Mulligan, executive director of Coastal Habitat for Humanity, was finally able to get to her office in the aftermath of the storm, she was overwhelmed to find 484 emails from people either needing help or wanting to help. Then she got moving.
Prior to Sandy, the group was working toward a new program, “A Brush With Kindness,” which would focus on repairing home exteriors in the Asbury Park area. Sandy, however, shifted the focus to dealing with the 30,000 storm victims in need in Mulligan’s territory alone.
“I said, ‘How am I going to help them with just me and this small staff of two part-timers?’ It was just an overwhelming sense of, ‘What am I going to do?’ But now that has changed,” she said.
Within days she got calls from people wanting to volunteer, government agencies seeking to provide staff, and Habitat International, which sought to provide money, fully stocked vans and disaster-response teams. Coastal Habitat received a half-million dollars in donations toward its ultimate $3 million goal. It referred those in need to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Red Cross and the Monmouth County Long-Term Recovery Group, and began organizing a master plan and seeking out and training volunteers.
Coastal Habitat is now launching its projects, starting with hardhit areas of Neptune, Manasquan and Belmar. The plan is to repair and restore sheetrock, insulation, flooring and molding, and replace warped interior doors and windows in 96 homes that have an average of less than $10,000 worth of damage and have already had mold remediated.
The organization will also reconstruct at least 24 homes that have an average of $30,000 of damages, and will do interior repair and restoration, plus structural repairs and replacing electrical systems, plumbing, HVAC, fixtures and siding. Coastal Habitat also plans to build three new homes from scratch this year.
Habitat of Northeast Monmouth County has already started working on homes in Union Beach, a residential waterfront community that was devastated by Sandy. Habitat of Western Monmouth has also dispatched volunteers to that town.
“Union Beach is an amazing place,” said Nancy Duran, president of Habitat of Northeast Monmouth. “They know all the homeowners and made it easy for us to help them out. Jennifer Maier [borough administrator] is an amazing woman. They serve lunch every day in Town Hall for all the volunteers and homeowners, and they gave supplies and gift cards to each homeowner,” which helps because Habitat just supplies manpower. David Hinton of Little Silver has been a volunteer for the Northeast Monmouth Habitat since 1996. He is now treasurer and board member.
“It’s more than just swinging hammers, but I enjoy swinging hammers,” Hinton said. “I’ve always liked to work outside manually and I like what [Habitat for Humanity does], trying to get people into affordable housing.
“We normally build one house a year, but after the storm we decided to concentrate on getting people back in their homes,” Hinton said. “What I do is a very small part of the whole thing. It takes a lot of volunteers. We are blessed with very good volunteers. They show up and dig right in and want to learn. It’s a pleasure working with them.”
For Habitat to step in, the resident must own and live in their own home, and have plumbing and electrical inspections complete.
“Then we go in and put in the floors, sheetrock, taping and sanding, windows if necessary, trim, all those things,” Hinton said. “In the house we have been working on, on Lorillard [Avenue in Union Beach], we had to rip out all the floors and subfloors and start from the floor joists up. There are other projects other people are working on. We are also working on a house in Keansburg.” Carlos Rodriguez, who lives on Lorillard Avenue and is the borough’s chief of emergency medical services (EMS), said Habitat showed up in the weeks after the storm, and he feels “blessed” that they found him.
“They showed up and said, ‘Can we help?’ I had 7 feet of water through the ranch. Everything in the house is gone. Some high school volunteers and church groups had gutted my house because of the saltwater damage. [Habitat volunteers] asked if they could help, and didn’t ask for anything and just started in and took over my house. They have been able to come in and do a lot to save the structure. They finalized all the carpentry stuff and it’s phenomenal. They come every Thursday and Friday and stay a few hours and get something done, then they go help others. It’s a blessing, it’s beautiful. These people have been wonderful. Remember, they’re not carpenters. Some of them are truck drivers, some are housewives, computer people, and they’re just here genuinely coming out to help me and help others.”
Rodriguez, his wife Dawn and son Jonathan, 6, are staying in Keyport while their home is being repaired.
TamiLynn Willoughby, of Second Street in Union Beach, said Habitat volunteers have been working on her house for 90 days.
“They come from different parts of the country to help us,” she said. “They’re really amazing people.”
“We’re looking to help as many people as possible,” said Jim Duran, chairman of the Northeast Monmouth Habitat construction committee and a volunteer for 10 years. “The focus is on getting people back in their homes. Contractors are charging exorbitant amounts of money for what we can do for free. It’s a great feeling, very rewarding.”
Ron Reda, a homeowner on Lorillard Avenue, has limited funds and mobility due to a disability that has kept him from his job and from working on his home himself. Habitat volunteers have been a great help in restoring his home, and he and his family, currently staying in a hotel, are looking forward to returning to a comfortable home.
“The people at Town Hall were spectacular and they directed me to Habitat,” Reda said. “I am forever in their debt for the work they’ve done. It’s been most moving. There are so many stories to tell, so many good people. This is what they are about. They are about helping people; it’s amazing that they give of their complete time. One guy is in his 80s. They insulated, sheetrocked, spackled, sanded. I was choked up when a slew of college kids came from Ohio with a church group three weeks ago, arranged and trained by Habitat. They were great kids. They held hands with me in a circle and prayed, ‘Please help this homeowner be safe.’
“Those guys can put their head on the pillow and sleep, knowing they are good, beautiful people. I can’t describe how wonderful they are. You hear bad stories, but there are lots of good people around.”
Volunteers
Age 16 and up
No experience necessary
Training provided
Work is done Tuesday-Saturday
Skilled personnel supervises
Area Habitat chapters include:
Coastal
Spring Lake Heights, southern Monmouth
County, 732-974-2422, ext. 112
Northeast Monmouth
Little Silver, northern Monmouth County,
732-728-0441
Western Monmouth
Freehold, 732-577-8160
Middlesex County
Woodbridge, 732-634-5360
Spotswood 732-251-7200
Northern Ocean County
Toms River, 732-818-9500
www.habitat.org