Is it still charity when you're worse off after it's give to you?
From the London Times...
Fairway Oaks was built on northern Florida wasteland by 10,000 volunteers, including Carter, in a record 17-day “blitz” organised by the charity Habitat for Humanity.
Eight years later it is better known for cockroaches, mildew and mysterious skin rashes....
The case could challenge the bedrock philosophy behind Habitat for Humanity, claiming that using volunteers, rather than professional builders, is causing as many problems as it solves.
April Charney, a lawyer representing many of the 85 homeowners in Fairway Oaks, said she had no problems taking on Habitat for Humanity, despite its status as a “darling of liberal social activists”. She said the charity should have told people that part of the estate had been built on a rubbish dump.
From the comments...
Haste makes waste! Land-dumps for foundation, 17-day rush to create housing, and liberals pan-handling the poor! Looks good on paper so they get a pass. People who get a home for nothing shouldn't be expected to take care of it! Does anyone expect the poor to pu money into a free home?
Mda, Harrisburg, USA
Reminds of when I was a kid, my dad tried to help a "poorer" family by plowing a plot of land for a garden. We gave them the seeds and helped plant them. Later we ask how the garden had done (we had plenty of rain etc.) We were told "they started out real good but the weeds took 'em".
Frank, Midland, Texas, USA
Not everyone is capable of being a doctor. Not everyone is capable of being an astronaut. Not everyone is capable of saving for retirement. Not everyone is capable of maintaining their own home.
Pretending that everyone is equal is a fool's errand.Saul Davidman, Detroit, USA
I am old enough to remember Block-Busting in Oakland, California when I was a young teenager. That was the first time people who had a ghetto mentality were subsidized into homes for the sake of forcing a population change. We watched lovely little older homes turn into dumps with no maintenance.
Jan , El Granada, USA
I know how they feel, because I live in a Habitat home and my house been falling apart every since the first year I lived there. When I let habitat workers know about the problems they just tell me they will see what they can do. blaming it on the home owners for foundation issues is just wrong.
Bonita , battle creek,
My wife's volunteered for HFH numerous times. She has seen neglect in building, on occasion, but there also is the problem of a "rental" mentality while owning a home. Add to that a poor choice in location (former dump) and you get a big problem nobody wants to take the blame for.
Posted by Danny Carlton at January 5, 2009 6:37 AM