From house to home

12 dwellings for tornado victims dedicated in Vilonia, Mayflower

Patsy Fortner, left, hugs Shenel Sandidge, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Faulkner County, at the dedication Thursday of homes in Mayflower for tornado victims. Fortner, who has been diagnosed with cancer, had her new home fully funded. Habitat for Humanity of Faulkner County holds the deeds to six of the other homes built in Mayflower. Five homes were scheduled to be dedicated Saturday in Vilonia. Also pictured is Jarrel Robertson, left, a friend of Fortner’s. Christian Aid Ministries provided the builders in Mayflower, and Apostolic Christian World Relief volunteers built the Vilonia homes. Other churches, relief organizations and businesses contributed to the effort.
Patsy Fortner, left, hugs Shenel Sandidge, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Faulkner County, at the dedication Thursday of homes in Mayflower for tornado victims. Fortner, who has been diagnosed with cancer, had her new home fully funded. Habitat for Humanity of Faulkner County holds the deeds to six of the other homes built in Mayflower. Five homes were scheduled to be dedicated Saturday in Vilonia. Also pictured is Jarrel Robertson, left, a friend of Fortner’s. Christian Aid Ministries provided the builders in Mayflower, and Apostolic Christian World Relief volunteers built the Vilonia homes. Other churches, relief organizations and businesses contributed to the effort.

Slowly but surely, tornado victims in Vilonia and Mayflower, cities hard-hit by the deadly April 2014 tornado, are getting their homes back.

The dedication of seven homes in Mayflower took place Thursday, and five homes in Vilonia were scheduled to be dedicated Saturday.

It has been a big project — a daunting one for Habitat for Humanity of Faulkner County — but also rewarding to see tornado victims get new homes, said Shenel Sandidge, executive director of the nonprofit organization.

One of those homes will belong to 39-year-old Edith Ortiz of Mayflower, whose mobile home was destroyed in the storm.

“There was nothing left of it,” she said. A few of her daughters’ baby pictures were salvaged, and that’s all, she said.

The family’s new home will be on Fortner Road, just a couple of lots down from where their mobile home once stood.

“I was a renter before; I’m going in as a homeowner this time,” Ortiz said. “I’m not accustomed to central heat and air — or a dishwasher. I didn’t even know how to work that.”

When the idea of doing 12 homes in Phase 1 of the project — seven in Mayflower and five in Vilonia — was conceived, Sandidge was concerned.

“I said, “I only do one house every other year — this is a big thing to take on,’” Sandidge said. “The long-term recovery groups said they would help.”

Those are the Vilonia Disaster Recovery Alliance and Interfaith and Partners Disaster Recovery Alliance in Mayflower.

Sandidge said the needs in the two communities were great.

“We found that there were many unmet needs for families with housing,” she said. “Most of the rental property and mobile homes were destroyed.”

There was a lack of affordable rental properties in those two communities, Sandidge said, and families were living in Conway and other locations and taking their children back and forth to schools in the tornado-ravaged communities.

She knew the extensive project needed to go forward. Habitat for Humanity of Faulkner County served as the project’s construction coordinator, she said.

“Volunteer groups came in, and we put them to work,” Sandidge said.

Christian Aid Ministries (for Mayflower homes) and Apostolic Christian World Relief (for Vilonia homes) were the primary builders, Sandidge said, and the NOMADS (Nomads on a Mission Active in Divine Service), which provides volunteer labor for United Methodist organizations, did labor on the rehabilitation of some mobile homes and put finishing touches on the homes that were built.

“We started with just doing repairs,” Sandidge said. “Then, when they were going into some of these mobile homes — the repairs were going to be $40,000. The mobile homes were outdated, like 1979, and the electrical wiring and plumbing were outdated.

“Some of the mobile homes were lifted up and sat back down, and they were shifted; there was water in there — mold. There was so much damage,” she said.

Instead of looking for used mobile homes, the decision was made to build homes.

“The builders said that’s what they do during a disaster — all-volunteer labor,” Sandidge said.

“Some people owned their trailers but didn’t own the land they were sitting on,” she said.

Most of the property was deeded to Habitat for Humanity of Faulkner County. It will hold the deeds on 11 of the 12 homes.

Janice Mann, recovery coordinator for the Interfaith and Partners Disaster Recovery Alliance, said the project “has gone wonderfully well.” She is also a part of the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

Mann said Christian Aid Ministries did an excellent job of building the Mayflower homes.

“Their skills are amazing, and they’ve done it faster than I’ve ever seen it done, but yet there is very, very good

craftsmanship on the homes,” Mann said. “They are made with siding. Most are three-bedroom homes. Those who can handle a small mortgage, that’s who we send through the Habitat partnership. Habitat has been such a good partner to work with.”

She said a group of builders from the Arkansas Baptist State Convention started three of the homes in Vilonia that were finished by Apostolic Christian Relief.

“Through the NOMADS and all the other volunteers we’ve had, we’ve been able to do a lot of repair projects, such as decks,” Mann said. “So as far as getting the unmet needs met, it’s slow-go, but it is happening and progressing. We’re just moving along.”

As required by Habitat for Humanity, the families have been attending classes about homeownership, Sandidge said, as well as attending how-to workshops at Home Depot.

Normally, the homeowners would put sweat equity into the home, but the situation was unique with the volunteer builders.

“They built so quickly — within two days, they started putting shingles on the roof,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz said she has learned a lot from the classes.

“It’s wonderful; it’s wonderful,” she said. “It’s very educational. There’s a lot of stuff I didn’t know before that I definitely know now, like the budgeting thing and all the stuff it takes to get qualified.”

Ortiz said she has tried to save money since the tornado destroyed her home so she can furnish her new home.

Donations and volunteers for the home-building project also came from several other faith-based organizations.

“The Catholic Charities has been tremendous,” Sandidge said. She said many other faith-based organizations and churches assisted in the effort.

The volunteer builders started Jan. 5 and were committed until March, Sandidge said. The NOMADS will stay until May.

“This is going to be ongoing till July — we want to do 25 [homes] by July,” Sandidge said. “We’re going to start a second phase in September. We have 50 families we’re trying to help in both areas.”

Sandidge said it has been rewarding for Habitat for Humanity of Faulkner County to assist with homes that aren’t in Conway.

“We are Faulkner County — and all our houses were in Conway. We needed to get to Mayflower; we needed to get to Vilonia. We’re going to Greenbrier next,” she said. “We want to branch out and do what we represent.”

Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.

Upcoming Events