From the Mountains to the Ocean: Down in Mississippi & Up to Some Good

Haven't posted in a while because I've been way down south. I spent the last week in Gulfport, Mississippi working with Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The trip was run by the University of Denver Greek Life, so girls representing every sorority on campus, and one fraternity went on this trip for some panhellenic philanthropy! This wasn't my first time working with Habitat, I've worked with the organization twice before in Slidell, Louisiana and Franklin, WV, as well as a few days working with Habitat of Metro Denver. Probably one of the best things about this trip was the view from the dorms we stayed in. Check it out!

Yup, that's the ocean behind those trees! An absolutely beautiful part of the country! My work site was about 20 minutes from our dorms, where we were meant to rehabilitate a home that was previously owned by a family through Habitat. We were told that the family had lived there for a few years until a lost job and just the recession in general forced them to move out, and it was our job to restore the home to good-as-new condition so a new family could move in. The house wasn't exactly in bad condition, it just needed some TLC to get it back up. Most of our work was painting, putting up baseboards, and caulking (yes, I know how that sounds, the caulk jokes never ceased). Here are some pics from our first house!

Our second home we worked on was a few blocks away from our first, and in much worse condition. Just by stepping into the home, it was easy to tell that it was not taken care of. We were told that some sketchy stuff happened in that home, and we found some evidence that supported that hypothesis. Door frames and cabinets were lined with packing tape so a smell couldn't get through. In the back bedroom, there were very obvious places on the ceiling where there would have been an array of lights:

^I'll let you come to your own conclusions about this one.

But being serious, it was really sad to see this house in this condition. Habitat volunteers, employees, and future homeowners put hundreds of hours into this home, only to have it taken over by what we can only assume was a drug business considering the state of the home. In the past, I've worked constructing homes and doing finishing work on homes with Habitat, and to see something like this in a home is just heartbreaking. The owners put sweat equity hours into a home, took classes on financing and maintaining a home, and bought an inexpensive home from Habitat only to turn it into something awful. This kind of thing does not happen often, but it definitely makes an impact when it does.

Also, on our second to last day, we were interviewed by the local news! After the opening credits, you can skip to about 8 minutes in to see our interviews.

See the interviews here

Overall, this trip was a phenomenal way to really get to know other members of the Greek community at DU and really do some good in a community still recovering from Hurricane Katrina eight years later. All the homes along the coast were new, and trees 50 feet high were pointed out to us as being completely submerged after Katrina hit. Traveling and doing these kinds of trips are real eye-openers into a part of the US I don't really get to see. I worked for a few hours on the last day of this trip with two future Habitat homeowners, and they were so much fun to work with, always with great attitudes and willing to work hard. This is why Habitat is such a great organization and why I love working for them.

I realized that a lot of people have misconceptions about Habitat, so to clear a few things up:

Homeowners do not receive Habitat houses for free. The homes are very simple and since they are built mostly by volunteers, the cost of the home is greatly discounted since the homeowners are mostly just paying for the materials.
Homeowners must take classes on maintaining a home physically and financially, as well as put in at least 150 hours of sweat equity into construction of their home or another Habitat home.

Here are some more pictures from the trip!