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St. John's co-workers build Habitat for Humanity house
Oct. 11, 2002
St. John's Health System co-workers began construction on St. John's ninth Habitat for Humanity house at 1139 N. Heartland in Springfield on Sept. 11.
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit Christian housing charity that provides housing to people who are living in inadequate situations. Habitat for Humanity has built more than 65,000 houses around the world and has put more than 300,000 people in safe, affordable homes. Families are selected on the basis of need, ability to pay and willingness to partner. St. John's has been a Habitat for Humanity sponsor since 1991.
"St. John's funds pay for the supplies to build the house. There are also costs for the land and its development in the cost too. We make a donation to Habitat and the family who receives the house signs a mortgage with Habitat. They make a monthly payment to Habitat. Habitat then uses those funds to buy more land and build more houses, so the funds St. John's donates to Habitat for Humanity is a perpetual gift," said St. John's Regional Health Center Vice President Jay Guffey.
Families receiving homes must complete 50 prebuild hours by helping build another family's Habitat for Humanity house, then contribute at least 100 hours building their own home.
"The family has to do so many hours of volunteer time, not only on their own house but on another house before they are even accepted to receive a house," St. John's Mission Services Director Vickie Keeney said. "They also have to meet certain financial guidelines and go through a class to assure they can take over the payments."
Keeney said the total cost of the house was about $45,000. St. John's donated $40,000 and Holy Trinity Catholic Church donated $5,000. Volunteers do not have to have any type of construction background because Habitat provides on-site training, Keeney said.
In addition to Information Systems, St. John's Emergency Trauma Center, Behavioral Health, SJRHC Newborn Nursery, Premier Health Plans, SJRHC Administration, Pastoral Care, the rehab physicians, Medical Management, Professional Anesthesia Services and Women's Oncology Care have volunteered staff to help.
Emergency Trauma Center Assistant Manager John Bonnard said building a home for a family is beneficial to the family, but also to the people who put the sweat and hard work into the house.
"It's a community service and it is something that we at the emergency trauma center enjoy," Bonnard said. "It is a great way for the ER to spend time together outside of work, while helping a family, especially this year. The family has moved several times and has six children and has never had a house. They are having to work, but are getting assistance to do better in life and provide better for their children. They have to put a lot of 'sweat equity' into the house itself."
Keeney said construction for a Habitat house lasts about nine weeks with specific duties occurring each week.
St. John's departments select an activity they would like to volunteer for, and then staff that activity with volunteers from their department or clinic.
St. John's became involved with the Habitat for Humanity project during the 100th anniversary of St. John's in Springfield as a way to celebrate and give back to the community, Guffey said.
"The first house was built by doing fund raisers with employees," Guffey said. "The next three were budgeted out year by year and these last five houses were developed on a new subdivision that housed 51 units with the help of a grant from Habitat International."
Habitat International received funds from the federal government specifically designed to develop communities for low-income families. Once this subdivision was a reality, St. John's was approached to build five houses to help fulfill the requirements of the grant, which required the subdivision to build eight to 10 houses per year.
According to Guffey, who has been involved with Habitat for Humanity since 1984, the Sisters of Mercy and the Mercy Caritas Fund also provided part of the funds to purchase the current land the houses are being built on.
"Next year it is uncertain what we will do because this is the last of those five committed houses,"Guffey said. "We were hoping that we would be able to fill that property when we helped purchase it and it is almost completed. Currently, Habitat is looking for a new location to start another subdivision, and whether we will be a part of that is not yet determined."
Guffey and Keeney agree the Habitat projects build relationships and goodwill.
"The neat thing is for departments to sign up and volunteer for the camaraderie aspect of it. Working as a team to help a family have decent housing really brings people together and establishes a community connection," Guffey said.
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