Week 5: Coming Home

By Bea Flodeen

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It’s been a long road to home ownership for Paula Mahan. Quite literally.

In June of 1995, the home that Paula would later own on Ellis Boulevard was sitting on its foundation behind the Johnson Avenue Hy-Vee. According to Google Maps, that’s about a six minute drive and just about a mile and a half away. Moving an entire home off of its foundation, down the road on a flat-bed truck, didn't discourage the volunteers who paused traffic while utility workers held up wires by tall poles so the roof had safe clearance.

Once the home was securely placed on its new foundation on Ellis, Habitat volunteers went to work rehabilitating the home with Paula and her two young daughters. The family moved into their home to create a stable foundation of their own after the dedication celebration was complete, keys were handed over and mortgage papers signed.

That is not the end of the story, however. In 2008, flood waters rose faster and higher than anyone could have imagined. The entire first floor, up to the ceiling, was filled with water. Paula says the artwork her daughters created over the years, which filled shelves in the rooms on the second floor were the most precious, irreplacable items in the home. Fortunately, the upstairs was spared.

Seeing her neighbors vacating their flood-affected homes, Paula had a choice to make whether to stay or go. The decision came partly by the city inspectors who found her foundation was safe, stable, secure. Surrounding neighbors weren't so fortunate and their homes were torn down one by one.

The decision to stay also came by way of the pride she had in the home. She had worked on the home, right along side the Habitat volunteers. She was there the day the home rolled in on a truck and wasn't about to abandon it, especially considering that she was so close to paying off her mortage.

In 2013, Paula made the final payment on her Habitat home. Changes have been made to the home since she’d first moved in, such as detachable cabinets in case it floods again, but one thing is unchanging: Paula Mahan is home to stay.



Paula Mahan in front of her payed off Habitat home



Week 4: Care-A-Vanning for a Cause

By: Bea Flodeen

Summer 2013 - Habitat Care-A-Vanners

Habitat RV Care-A-Vanners are a special breed of volunteers. They travel across the country in their RVs to give of their their time and talents on Habitat for Humanity build sites. This summer, we are hosting a Care-A-Vanner build located at 1247 4th Street SW in Cedar Rapids. That's not to say this is the first time we've had Care-A-Vanners in town before. Quite to the contrary, volunteers from all over the US have rolled into Cedar Rapids to help build Habitat homes.

Shortly after the flood of 2008, the Cedar Valley Habitat board of directors decided to set a goal: 60 families served in three years. It was a lofty goal considering we'd only been completing one to two homes every year previous, but the need was so great in the community. Thousands of volunteers stepped forward to help build and rebuild. From those volunteers, particularly those who rolled in with their RVs, an idea was born.

A grant application was submitted to the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation for assistance with creating an RV lot located at the construction warehouse, in the heart of the Time Check neighborhood. With the approval of the grant, ten full RV hook-ups were installed, providing the stability of a "base camp" for the Care-A-Vanners serving our community.

RVs set up in the Habitat "base camp"

Since 2009, Bob and Doris Meyer have made an annual trek in their RV all the way from Valrico, Florida to build with Cedar Valley Habitat. As team leaders, Bob and Doris arrived first at the Habitat RV lot, leading the charge as seven additional couples joined in, from locations including North Carolina, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and South Dakota.

For the last two weeks, Care-A-Vanners have been out on the build site every day, constructing walls, putting up blue-board, setting trusses and installing siding. The family of three who will move into the home this fall have provided several lunches for the volunteers who have traveled so far to serve. In so doing, the Habitat RV Care-A-Vanners create for themselves a sort of long-distance family among the other RVers they meet and work with season after season.

Care-A-Vanners checking for level

To learn more, visit www.cvhabitat.org/rv or www.habitat.org/rv.

July 16, 2013 - Care-A-Vanners Build Gallery

July 12, 2013 - Care-A-Vanner Build Gallery

Week 3: Welcoming Peace

By: AT Holder

Debra and Ray Stull



Ray and Debra Stull

Ray Stull was our first, A Brush with Kindness, this year and set the bar very high. Ray was always thanking the volunteers and always made sure to meet every person who came on site. Ray would always tell the volunteers that he used to have the ugliest house on the street but now with their help he has the best looking house around. Ray used to take a back street to his house, which was quicker, but eventually he told us that he would drive out of his way just so he could see the fullness of his house.





In the middle of painting

Towards the end of the project Ray told us that he wrote a letter for us and the volunteers who had been helping us out. He said that he wrote it but had second thoughts so he just ripped it up and threw it away. I encouraged him to write a new one and that the volunteers would love to hear what he had to say and later the same day Ray brought out the letter and gave it to me. When we finally left his house Ray said he would miss us, he told us thanks for everything and lastly, “I feel like a got a new house and some new friends.”


Women Build volunteers about to put
their painting skills to good use on Ray's home

Week 2: Serving Those Who Served Us

By: David Henrion

Cliff Eisley, Retired Vet and Repair Corps Participant

We have this program here at Cedar Valley Habitat, called the Repair Corps. The idea is to help improve the homes of local veterans and give something back to those who risked giving up everything for their country and their fellow citizens. It’s sponsored by the Home Depot, and they give us $15,000 to use on every home. This goes a long way into improving the lives of some amazing people.

Mike Bisek is 90+ years old. I mention that first, because that’s almost the most impressive part of his story. Well, ok, maybe not. He lives by himself (his wife died a few years back), and still gets around pretty well. He drives himself; he’s up to date on how Iowa is doing in the tournament; his TVs are all tuned into news stations and you can tell that current events have a tight hold on his interests. It’s also hard to overstate just how nice of a man Mike is. Every morning he has coffee and pastries for our volunteers, and he is genuinely disappointed if he can’t provide lunch. But that’s not the only impressive thing about Mike. He served in the Air Force during World War II, and was shot down over France. He had to hide out with the French Resistance until he could be rescued by U.S. forces. He came back to Cedar Rapids, married, had children, and lived well. Now, he’s a little older and a little slower. We at Habitat were able to replace his bathroom and convert his porch into a regular room. He can actually safely reach his shower and his washer/dryer, without worrying about falling en route.

Willard is another World War II veteran. I haven’t been able to hear his age, his branch of service, or his life after leaving the military. He is a lot quieter than Mike, but what does speak loudly is the condition of his home. Willard is a hoarder, and he has it to a severe extent. I don’t totally understand hoarding, but I do understand wanting to hold on the mementos and memories of a good life. And I can certainly see how someone could fall into a trap of leaning too much on past books, clothing, or memories. In Willard’s specific case, it is hard to convey with words just how packed his house was. We ended up donating two truckloads of clothing to Goodwill, filling the largest available dumpster to the brim, and there was still much more left. We had to clean up his house, in order to remove asbestos from his basement, fix his windows, and complete the rest of our scope. It was something that needed to be done, even if it was painful for Willard. We left him with a healthier house, and hopefully a healthier state of mind.