PROVIDENCE, RI -- Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis and Attorney General Patrick Lynch will be swinging hammers in Providence this Saturday morning to help Habitat for Humanity kick off a summer building campaign.
Habitat Providence is turning to elected officials as a way to keep construction going over the summer, when the number of student volunteers drops because schools are closed for vacation, according to Herman deKoe, executive director of Habitat’s Providence chapter.
“High school and college students are a reliable source volunteers for most of the year. During the summer, I hope every state and local official will pick a Saturday to help,” said deKoe. There will be a brief press conference announcing the initiative at 10:30 a.m., after which construction is expected to really pickup.
Lynch, Mollis and about a dozen volunteers from their staffs will be framing a duplex at 38-40 Veazie St. in Providence’s North End. When completed there will be two, three-bedroom townhouses.
The volunteers from Mollis and Lynch's offices are expected to work alongside the future owners of the two townhouses. Habitat Providence home buyers must contribute at least 300 hours of “sweat equity” working on the nonprofit's projects.
Buyers for the Veazie Street townhouses have been identified, but not confirmed, according to deKoe. Buyers can earn no more than 50 percent of median income, or about $34,000 for a family of four. For more information about volunteering or buying a home, contact Habitat Providence at 831-5424.