The Alabama Habitat For Humanity ReStore

As tragic as the April 27th, 2011 tornado was, there came out of that day many stories of inspiration and survival. One of those stories was a local non-profit that looked at all of the destruction and saw a way to meet the needs of many Tuscaloosa residents. Tonight, in our Spirit of Alabama report, we take a look back and forward with the Executive Director of Habitat for H Reporters find it hard to do a story about home construction without including what we call Nat Sound of saws or hammers at a construction site. Since 1987, Habitat for H Ellen Potts is the Executive Director. So we built 47 homes between 1987 when were founded and the April 27th, 2011 tornado. Back in the early days, Habitat might only build a couple of houses a year. Since the tornado, we have built 84 homes and we've repaired another 225, including about 50 roofs that we've done this year plus another good 10 or so rehabilitation jobs. Ellen Potts started as a volunteer In fact, she says in Habitat's history, 26,000 people have volunteered to build homes for others. They've come from all 50 states and six continents and future homeowners aren't just given homes It is very frustrating that everyone thinks, or most people think, that we give away homes We don't. The Habitat staff gets to know future homeowners very well. It's a long process of applying for a home and actually moving into one. Habitat calls it sweat equity. Sweat equity is exactly what it sounds Our homeowners are required to do, if it's a single adult household, they have to do 250 hours worth of work on their own habitat house and other people's habitat homes. And then if there are two or more adults in the home, they have to do 350 hours. And a lot of people don't know that the home owner takes out a 30-year interest-free mortgage on the market value of the home. And the home owner is responsible to make those payments. Habitat home ownership is not a handout, it's a hand up. And that is what we are truly trying to accomplish. Many homes have been built in the Alberta area so hard hit by the 2011 tornado. Now Habitat is focusing on Tuscaloosa's West End community. Right now, we're raising $200,000 to purchase 40 lots in West End. And on those 40 lots, not only do we want to build 40 habitat homes, but also we want to use those Habitat home job sites as job training sites for children at or youth studying the construction trades at the Tuscaloosa Career and Technology Academy, which. . . Manatee, if you can't do that, consider supporting this great organization. Find all the information at HabitatTuscaloosa. org slash donate. Once involved, you may begin to feel It is hard to verbalize the ways that this job has changed to me. It is such an incredible privilege to get up and do this every day. That's the Spirit of Alabama, Mike Royer, WVUA 23 News. If you have a story you'd com.