Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 5, 2008: Rolling display at CCAC South gives picture of poverty
Thursday, June 05, 2008
By Mary Niederberger, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
John Heller/Post-Gazette
A traveling exhibit on substandard housing sits in a 67-foot semi truck visiting CCAC South.
To step inside the 67-foot semi-trailer parked at Community College of Allegheny’s South Campus in West Mifflin on Friday was to step into the world of poverty.
The lighting was dim, a broken bathroom sink had a bucket under it to catch leaks, the paint on a radiator was chipped and peeling and the sink and stove were old and dirty. Walls were cracked to expose wooden studs, and tattered curtains hung on the windows.
Television monitors provided messages from people who live in substandard housing, including one woman who described how sewage from the toilet of the tenant above her flows into her bathtub each time the toilet is flushed.
Another woman showed numerous extension cords plugged into a small electrical box, the only source of electricity for her apartment.
During the testimonials from people who actually live in such conditions, a startling statistic is shared: 13 million children live in poverty in the United States.
The truck is operated by the Thrivent Builds Mobile project, a mobile exhibit that shows what it’s like to live in substandard housing and how that situation can be improved for families who are recipients of homes from Habitat for Humanity.
Thrivent Financial is an investment firm for Lutherans. Four years ago, it partnered with Habitat for Humanity for the Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity project, investing $125 million. The two groups had worked together in the past to build Habitat homes.
The goal of the new partnership is to sponsor hundreds of Habitat homes across the country and to engage thousands of volunteers. The project also plans to sponsor trips to build homes abroad and to work to improve and rebuild communities.
As part of the project, the semi-trailer has been traveling the country since August 2005, stopping in more than 100 cities so far to bring attention to families who live in substandard housing. From West Mifflin, it was headed to Troy, Ohio.
Last year, it visited churches and shopping centers. This year, the plan is to hit community festivals where large groups of people will be gathered.
“We’re trying to spread awareness with the general public,” said Charles Boltas, a field manager who has traveled with the truck for three years.
The CCAC south campus was chosen for a stop Friday because it was the training site for 64 Habitat for Humanity staffers and volunteers, who were expected to tour the exhibit along with CCAC students.
After viewing the first part of the display showing substandard housing conditions, visitors walk through doors to a second part, which shows a display with a new sink, stove, lighting and refrigerator.
A video shows Habitat homes, the families who have moved into them and what the new housing means to them. One man is shown kissing the keys of his new home.
The video also contains testimonials from Habitat volunteers telling how fulfilling they have found the work.
One of the messages that Mr. Boltas tries to get out to the community is that families who are the recipients of Habitat homes are not given the homes for free.
Each family must qualify for an interest-free mortgage on the property and must work 300 to 500 hours helping to build the home.
“We found that people are really surprised that Habitat doesn’t give away the homes,” Mr. Boltas said.
Near the exit door of the display is information on the Thrivent Builds project and applications for those who want to get involved.
Each visitor gets a card telling the story of a family who sought housing from Habitat. Not all the stories have happy endings, even when families qualify for loans and are available to put in their hours of construction.
That’s because the demand for Habitat homes is far greater than the resources to build them.
For more, go to www.thriventbuilds.com.
Mary Niederberger can be reached at mniederberger@post-gazette.com or 412-851-1512.
First published on June 5, 2008 at 12:00 am