Memorial Day 2021 Issue

Peter had a hand in laying the roof. “It’s a lot
of math and science,” he said.
The boys look forward to having more
space for themselves and not having to share a
bathroom among all six siblings. The best part,
Peter said, will be having room to grow. “It’s a
safe neighborhood and a better environment for
my brothers and sisters.”
On May 5, Marly Davis helped kick off
Women Build Month at the site of her new home.
She worked alongside Congresswoman Mikie
Sherrill to bring to light the homeownership
challenges women face.
Marly is excited about being able to call
the shots in her own home. “Women identify
themselves with their homes, and I do, too.
Being a homemaker and a homeschooling
mom, it’s a lot for me to have a house,” she said.
“No landlord knocking on the door, just me
inviting people in.”
Sherill was thrilled to pitch in on the Davises’
new home. “To have a small part in this, to grow
our communities, it’s an honor to be here,” she
said. “We have a lot of single moms who have
trouble finding homes. Some women veterans
have children and they are harder to place.
Getting people moved into their own homes,
especially an affordable home, is incredibly
important.”
Groups like Habitat for Humanity work with
people to access the economies and budget
needs of owning a home and support them
through the whole process, according to Sherill.
“It takes a village,” Marly added.
Maryalice Hanzo, 79, of Oak Ridge, works
at Habitat’s ReStore in Randolph once a week
and heard about the Women Build event at
the Lake Shawnee site and asked her daughter,
Pamala Beers, 59, of Bangor, P.A., to join her.
It’s bonding time over nails, just not the ones
on their fingers and toes. “You’d think we’d do
more girlie things, but we always end up at
these,” Beers said.
“It’s so nice to work here, it’s a good feeling,”
Hanzo said of the work she and her fellow
volunteers do. “They are doing it because they
want to do it, and there is a lot to be doing.”
Phyllis Chanda, 63, Roxbury Township, first
started volunteering in 2018 when the Roxbury
Women’s Club was asked by Habitat to help
with a cleanup project on nearly completed
homes. She continued with the home repair
group, even climbing on roofs. A retired human
resources specialist, she still is sometimes in awe
of the work that’s done. “Anybody can do it,
whether it’s once a year or four days a week,
they’ll teach you,” she said. “The family has been
very involved—Peter especially was wanting to
try everything.”
The experience isn’t just meaningful to the
eventual residents, but also to those who are
taking time away from their own lives and
families to put nails into boards. Ray Hom, 59, of
Lake Hopatcong, has been at the Lake Shawnee
site almost every weekend since January. Hom
said his church used to take regular trips with
Habitat to build in Baltimore, Md., but he was
inspired by news coverage of the build closer to
home. “I’ve always been called to serve others
within the community and help it grow,” he
said. “I enjoy helping those who are struggling
to find affordable housing.”
Habitat for Humanity part-time Construction
Site Supervisor Mike Dakak, 71, of Landing, is
at the Lake Shawnee house three days a week.
“The Davis family is very hardworking and
engaged, often coming out in the middle of
winter,” he said.
HAMMERING AWAY AT THE PATH FORWARD
Despite the pandemic, Morris Habitat for
Humanity was able to complete 10 homes in
the last year in a region which includes sections
of Morris, Essex, Union and Warren counties,
Wilson said. And it wasn’t just volunteers who
were hard to find. “Because of factory shutdowns,
all the materials—lumber, windows, doors and
other components—are in short or no supply and
that’s something that’s completely beyond our
control.”
The organization is planning for future needs
and helping where they can because COVID-19
Paul and
Peter Davis
help install
windows at
their Lake
Shawnee
Habitat
home.
has only shone a light on already delicate living
situations. “Family members who are supporting
a loved one, maybe paying their rent and now
have lost their job or even passed away,” Wilson
said.
Morris Habitat’s Neighborhood Revitalization
and Aging in Place programs had to shut down
for almost six months during the pandemic
because they could not enter recipients’ homes.
“Drafty windows, furnaces, plumbing, tons of
roofs. Those things might have been there, and
they were tolerating them because they were out
working most of the time,” Wilson said. “But
now they’re home, and it’s magnified.”
And so, the work continues.
Morris Habitat is breaking ground on two sixplexes,
or structures with six distinct living units,
in Summit and the first phase of a 25-unit project
in Randolph. But they can’t do it without the
help. “People are moved to help, and we can use
it,” said Wilson. “These are good projects that we
would love to be able to push out—it just takes
money.
“I welcome and invite families, individuals,
companies to come out and support your
neighbors in need of a safe and affordable place
to live,” she said. “These are the people we need in
our community.”
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