Ithaca Women Build House

by Emoke Bebiak

Lansing, NY—The noises of hammering and sawing filled the otherwise quiet Breed Road in North Lansing on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9-10. As the kick-off event for Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build program, about 25 women worked per shift to build exterior and interior walls. Despite the gloomy weather, several women of the Ithaca community, ranging from college students to retirees, decided to devote their time to work on a house for Amber Little and her two sons.

If everything goes according to plan, Little and her sons will move in by November 30, or by the end of the year at the latest. This quick turnaround was unexpected. Little’s plan, through the Family Self-Sufficiency program, was to save for three years before she could get a house. Having learned about the application at Habitat for Humanity last January, Little filled out the paperwork thinking she didn’t have anything to lose. To her surprise, Little found out in April that she got the house. Now, that the construction is nearing its end Little is excited. “I did [have a vision] and it’s totally not looking like I thought it was going to. It looks even better!” Little said.

Deanalis Resto, a junior Musical Theatre major at Ithaca College, spent most of her morning and afternoon working on Little’s house. As a Martin Luther King JrMartin Luther King JrMartin Luther King JrMartin Luther King Jr. Scholar, Resto is required to do a certain amount of community service, but she also enjoys volunteering. “Habitat’s always a great experience, especially because you’re usually working alongside the person who’s going to be living in the house,” Resto said. She also likes meeting interesting people while volunteering. “A lot of retirees will also volunteer at this program and it’s really interesting,” said Resto, “you meet a lot of old, fun guys who have had these amazing lives and talk to you about their lives while you’re building alongside them. They teach you things.”

Shannon Wheeler, Construction Coordinator and Women Build Coordinator, has been working with Habitat for Humanity for over seven years. Wheeler enjoyed working with the women during the weekend. “It’s been a really committed, enthusiastic group,” Wheeler said, “Even though the weather was crummy, we have been having a lot of fun and we’ve been getting a ton of work done.” Wheeler supports Habitat for Humanity’s mission of providing housing for people in need, which is why she sees volunteering at constructions as an extraordinary activity. “It’s a really rewarding job cause you can really see what you have accomplished by the end of the day,” said Wheeler, “People really like that about it. They leave the site seeing that big stack of panels that they built, and they’re like ‘Oh, those are my wall panels!’”

The Women Build program, underwritten by Lowe’s, is part of Habitat for Humanity International and is meant to encourage women to learn proper construction skills and put them to good use by helping the community. The event on Friday and Saturday was the first Women Build project in the area. Future homeowner Little, who helps to build her house by working at the construction site every Friday, felt a difference in working with women. “I have worked with some men this week, and the women are so productive and organized!” Little said.