Transform Chattanooga

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga today [July 1, 2009] announced the appointment of Pete Palmer as Executive Director.  “Pete has demonstrated commitment, leadership and ability to direct the Chattanooga Habitat affiliate in fulfilling its mission to give tangible expression to the love of God through the work of eliminating poverty housing,” stated Chip Lusk, Chair of the Board’s Search Committee.

Palmer has been associated with Chattanooga Habitat since 1997, serving on the executive committee and most recently as board president.  Prior to retiring from Regions Bank, he worked with Habitat to secure funding for housing at Fairview Park, Habitat Square and Shepherd Park.  Additionally, Palmer serves as a director on the boards of the Chattanooga Community Development Housing Organization and the Friends of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.

“I am blessed to be part of a ministry which brings diverse groups of people together to make affordable housing and better communities a reality for everyone,” said Palmer.  “We have a terrific, hard working staff who is passionate about Habitat.  Over the next year, we plan to enhance our homeowner education program, renovate our ReStore to expand its operations, and train additional work crew leaders to increase our annual construction capacity.  Currently, we are building three houses with a fourth about to start.  We are deeply grateful to our local foundations, businesses, churches, schools and individuals for partnering with us in our efforts to transform lives, one home at a time.”

We wrote about the partnership between Habitat and the Chattanooga Housing Authority that helped Allie become a homeowner in a previous post, but here is more about her story.

“The Lord has truly blessed me,” says Allie Cisco.  “I never thought that I would have a place of my own.”  Life has not always been easy for Allie, but, through the ministry of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga, and blessings from God above, brighter days are ahead for Allie and her three children.

As a child, Allie took on more responsibility than one should expect.  Her mother worked evenings, leaving her alone to care for her two younger brothers.  “It made me not want to have children because I didn’t want to leave them home alone.”  At the age of 18, however, Allie had her first child.  Though determined to continue her education after graduating from high school, Allie quickly realized that working, going to college and taking care of a child was just too much.

Not many months later, Allie’s father became seriously ill and she decided to move in with him to not only ensure that he received his daily medications, but to also provide him with a clean home and healthy meals.  Allie found comfort in caring for her dad since he truly had been the only stabilizing force in her life while growing up.  After a period of time, Allie’s siblings left their mother’s home and also moved in with their father.  Since he would no longer be living alone, Allie felt comfortable trying to make it on her own once again.  Despite being several months pregnant and having a toddler in tow, Allie determinedly stood in line at the Section 8 housing office for over 7 hours in order to receive her housing voucher.  Tragically, only a few short months later, Allie’s father passed away.  This fact weighs heavily on Allie, always wondering had she continued living with and caring for her father, would he have survived his illness?

Allie has lived in an apartment for the past two years with her three children.  While being able to make it on her own is satisfying, she says it is a constant battle to get the landlord to provide the needed maintenance on their apartment.  The most serious issue is a recurring sewage backup in her bathroom.  “My children can’t even take baths in our own apartment for fear the water will back up.”  The majority of her lighting fixtures do not work forcing her to use one lamp in the apartment and her utility bills are high due to inefficient wall heating units and the lack of insulation.  “During the winter, I constantly have to watch the kids so they don’t burn themselves on the heaters.”

Since becoming a Habitat Partner Family, Allie has faith that her hard work will make a tremendous difference in her and her children’s lives.  In addition to being committed to her job at Regis Distribution, Allie is one of Habitat for Humanity’s most dependable, hard-working Partner Families.  “I’m not going to take for granted what the Lord has put in my path.  This is an opportunity to provide a safe and secure place for me and my children to live.  My son can’t wait to paint and put up racing cars on the walls of his room!  I love my children so much and will continue to do my best for them.”  Allie is very grateful for the opportunity to not only help herself, but to also help others achieve the dream of one day owning their own home.

Crystal Johnson with one of the championship teams who helped build the walls to her home last December

Fear was a constant companion during Crystal Johnson’s childhood in Avondale.   Her home was broken into on a regular basis and her parents feared for the safety of their children.  Crystal remembers going home to a house that had been broken into yet again, and her father doing his walk-through of her house to make sure it was safe enough for his family to come in.  Her house was riddled with roaches and gophers – the roach problem only exacerbated Crystal’s asthma, another reason she couldn’t stay in her own home.

The fear and poverty of her childhood drove her to become a social worker.  “I really wanted to make a difference in other people’s lives,” Crystal says. After graduating from Brainerd, Crystal pursued a degree in social work at UTC.  Her first job was working with the children at Chambliss Children’s Shelter.   She now works as a case worker at Fortwood Mental Health Center.

Crystal is determined to give her seven-year old daughter Kaya a home free of fear and to use

homeownership to break the cycle of poverty she has endured.   Crystal’s determination led her to Habitat as a resource to reach that goal. “I’m so independent and I am ready to own a home of my own., ”  Crystal says.   Crystal’s home is under construction thanks to funding from the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Home team Partnership with Habitat for Humanity International, and volunteer service by many local volunteers.