A Family Moves In...

Originally uploaded by david_lewicki.

Shelley and Lamar, along with an older daughter (not pictured) moved into their new 3 bedroom apartment in Bed-Stuy on Saturday, December 15th, courtesy of New York City Habitat for Humanity. I got to tag along and participate in the blessing of their new apartment. We blessed each room of the new house and gathered to pray for the family's welfare... and that building on the strength of this new home, they might help others achieve the same dream.

Habitat does a great job here in NYC, but it's a much different operation than in other cities. Land and building costs here, combined with the scarcity of available real estate, make developments few and far between. This new place in Brooklyn is a 9 unit "nearly green" building, but it's just a drop in the ocean of need for good quality, energy-efficient, affordable housing... and home ownership? Out of the question for most. Shelley's a cook in the cafeteria of a Catholic high school. I can't imagine any way that she could ever have dreamed of owning a home.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, more than one speaker lamented how the last 7 years have seen a failure of the federal government to support cities--ironic that I heard this message just AFTER writing my previous blog post. It does seem that continuing to support hard-working families toward home ownership is a worthy goal for the federal government to pursue... stabilizes families, children, and entire communities. One speaker at the ceremony sounded a canary in the coal mine: he said that the subprime mortgage disaster (a disaster fed by irresponsible lending and financing practices... in short, people being so greedy they get stupid) could have a drastic effect on New York City. Thousands of families are facing the loss of their homes... somewhere between 5 and 10 thousand. This is a problem that is not going away, and it's a problem that effects people who are already economically marginal.

In the meantime, I say a prayer of gratitude for Habitat-NYC and give a shout of praise for the new life that Shelley and her family begin this Christmas.