By Chelsea Laskowski

Passion for construction fostered through Habitat for Humanity

Nov 1, 2013 | 5:34 PM

Friday was a big day for members of Habitat for Humanity.

First, they symbolically handed a plaque with a house key on it to the Mulge family. The family is now taking over a mortgage on the Habitat house they’ve been living in for the past year at 537 12th St. West.

The mortgages on Habitat homes are affordable and no-interest. According to Habitat’s website, “homeowners' monthly mortgage payments go into a revolving fund, which is used to build more homes.”

Following that ceremony, people dug shovels into fresh ground for Habitat’s next build at 1870 13th Street West.

While one ceremony was a beginning and the other an end, there was a common thread between the two.

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The helping hands behind both West Flat-area homes may end up working in the trades.

The 12th Street West home was built by a group of teens in a carpentry class.

Patrick Helgason, a journeyman carpenter who taught the class two years ago, explained one thing it taught the students.

“A lot of them can kind of, with this experience, make a really good decision of whether they want to further their carpentry career or maybe it wasn’t for them. So it was a great kind of trial before they get out of high school.”

Even if carpentry wasn’t for the students, he added that the semester-long build taught them to work together.

Because of the time constraint to finish building the house, they had to overcome any disagreements to succeed.

Additionally, they learned what they were capable of.

“Some of the students even say they come and they drive by this house all the time and they look at it. They feel that sense of achievement. It’s that warm fuzzy feeling they get from finishing a project right from start to finish and see the progress everyday. It’s rewarding,” he said.

The second site for the next Habitat for Humanity build is only a couple of blocks away from where those students worked away for three months.

The house that will end up on that land will be built by inmates.

The new house, which will be the organization’s 18th, will not be built on site. Inmates at the penitentiary will build the house through a program called CORCAN.

Construction will start soon and is expected to be complete by spring.

It will then be hauled to its final location, which is currently filled with small trees and brush. That area will need to be cleared out before then.

The program helps inmates learn skills to possibly pursue the trades and integrate back into the workforce after their time is served at the penitentiary.

claskowski@panow.com

On Twitter: @chelsealaskowsk