Habitat launches new Women's Build project
By By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
Aug. 19, 2002
Lauderdale County Habitat for Humanity is calling all women to join its newest Women's Build Project set to begin next month.
A "How to Build a House" class is scheduled to begin with a light supper at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Union Station. The class will begin at 6 p.m. and will be taught by representatives from Mississippi State University's School of Architecture.
A model of the house to be built for Kimberly Lloyd and her family at the intersection of Fifth Street and 55th Avenue will be on display for the class. Site blessing and ground breaking ceremonies are scheduled for Wednesday beginning at 10 a.m.
Fonda Rush, Habitat director in Meridian, said the upcoming construction will be the third Women Build project for Lauderdale County Habitat for Humanity and the 38th house constructed by the local organization since it began in 1989.
Leisha Pickering, wife of U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Miss., is the project spokesperson and the Pickerings are scheduled to speak at the ceremony Wednesday.
The Habitat house was designed by MSU School of Architecture students David Brawner of Corinth and Elisabeth Lacey of Columbus.
Judy Phillips, research assistant with the Stennis Institute, helped coordinate the project with use of a grant to MSU from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to find affordable housing designs and materials.
Phillips said Brawner, Lacey and MSU architecture instructor Joe Hagerman surveyed the neighborhood where the house will be built earlier this year to identify community architectural characteristics.
Material assistance for the project is being supplied by Atlas Roofing of Meridian, Perma R Products, Inc., of Grenada, General Paneling Co., of Union and Mississippi Power Co.
The project is part of "Women Building A Legacy," an 18-month program of Habitat for Humanity International's Women Build Department. The program is used to build homes for families with children who are living in poverty.
Construction is scheduled to begin in Meridian on Sept. 13. Rush said she is hoping to complete the project around the end of October.
Habitat Meeting:
Lauderdale County Habitat for Humanity will hold a meeting for volunteers interested in participating in its Women's Build project in Meridian. A class on "How to Build a House" will be held at Union Station, 1901 Front St., on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
For more information, call the Lauderdale County Habitat for Humanity office at 485-4992.
