Women Build – houses, community, and hope ‘SAWS²’ group works with Habitat for Humanity for better housing
Pam Bradley spent her career teaching art to elementary school students at Churchville-Chili, but her calling of the last three decades involves swinging a hammer. The Spencerport resident and her husband, Jim, have volunteered for thirty summers building houses with Habitat for Humanity all over the northeast.
Bradley, now retired, leads a local Women Build team for Flower City Habitat for Humanity, named ‘SAWS²’ (Strong Able Women Supporting Sisters.)
“I’m used to working with my hands — and I’ve been able to recruit former colleagues who are also retired. Now we get to pound nails, use saws, and paint, while further enriching our relationships,” Bradley says about how her teaching career has come in handy in both house building and helping women to bond.
Women Build is a Flower City Habitat for Humanity (FCHH) women-led program modeled after one started by Habitat for Humanity International. This year, Women Build in Rochester will be building their 10th house since 2011, helping a low-income family in need of decent, affordable housing. Approximately 25 families are in line for a local Habitat House at any given time. The head of household for Habitat families is often a woman.
“This is about empowering women,” says Bradley, “both those on a Women Build Team and a woman head of household. I have seen it happen over and over that a woman begins with no (building) skills, works at it, and then sees her house grow and be finished.”
Participating families put in 450 hours of sweat equity, the first 250 hours laboring on houses for others and the balance laboring on their own house. At the completion of their house, the family takes on a zero-interest mortgage. It all begins with building the volunteer teams whose first task is to fundraise.
Deanna Varble, Communications Associate Manager for FCHH, says while there is access to land in Rochester’s JOSANA neighborhood (near Jay and Orchard Streets), and a passionate community of volunteers to do the work, funding is still a hurdle. In total, $75,000 must be raised for each house: one third before groundbreaking on Mother’s Day, the second third by the end of June, and the balance before the house is finished in August.
Bradley’s SAWS² team pledges to raise $6,000 toward that goal. Other local Women Build teams will also contribute fundraising and labor. Both Bradley and Mary Hadley, the local Women Build Chair, have hosted informational recruiting meetings during March, which is Women’s History Month.
Bradley has learned many skills over the years, including wall framing, installing floor decks, painting, insulation, dry wall, and, her favorite: putting up siding. She credits patient, nurturing FCHH construction supervisors who teach building skills, but who also hold everyone accountable for quality work. “They are always there to teach you how to do it,” adds Mary Hadley, “even if you have to do it again!”
“Our mission is to bring people together to build houses, community, and hope – so that goes beyond one family in one new home,” says Varble.
Since 1984, FCHH has moved over 300 children into lead-free, mold-free, healthy homes. The program’s success is in the numbers: 98% of children from Habitat families graduate high school or earn a GED, and 72% go on to some form of higher education or career training. “These houses are safe and well-built, providing a stable home for children,” says Bradley.
It’s about building up women, too. Says Bradley, “When a woman helps to build her own house and then takes ownership, she stands up straighter. That’s the reason many teams do participate every year in Women Build.”
Note: To make a donation, join a Women Build team or form your own team, contact Mary Hadley at maryahadley@gmail.com or 585-530-7592.
Provided photos
