QUILCENE — Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County will announce at a forum Thursday the boundaries of the area that will receive services in its three-year Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative.
Habitat will host a community forum from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Quilcene Community Center, 294952 U.S. Highway 101, said Cassandra Little, coordinator of the project.
Habitat chose Quilcene last year for the local program of a new Habitat International pilot project called Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative because of a “need to serve the people in south county,” Port Townsend-based Habitat Executive Director Jamie Maciejewski said.
Services won’t be limited to building new housing, Little said.
“It’s an additional direction. It’s expanding into other kinds of services,” she said Tuesday, adding that each affiliate is expected to determine what services are most needed.
Examples of work undertaken by other affiliates involved in the initiative include repainting existing homes or making critical home repairs to roofing or plumbing.
Habitat employees have been meeting with personnel from other agencies to see what areas already are covered and where the need is the greatest, Little said, adding that it is unknown when the first work will begin.
“We’re still in the information-gathering stage,” she said.
“We’re making sure that the potential partners in this initiative have been identified. We want to make sure that Habitat isn’t filling a niche that’s already being filled by some other organization.”
Some decisions have been made — and will be announced Thursday, Little said.
That includes the boundaries of the project and possible projects, drawn from an advisory group’s suggestions.
Also, Habitat will announce a community survey and outline a way for residents to give the organization feedback.
The Habitat board cited several reasons for choosing Quilcene, including close proximity of schools, places of worship, post office, parks, the health clinic and the community food bank; opportunities for partnership, the state of housing in Quilcene and residents’ commitment to revitalization.
Habitat for Humanity International in June selected the East Jefferson County affiliate, making the local agency one of 55 affiliates nationwide, and one of only five rural affiliates in the country, to pilot the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative.
Habitat builds simple, decent houses in partnership with people in need, Maciejewski said.
Participants put in 400 to 500 “sweat equity” hours as a down payment on their homes and pay for the cost of materials through a 20- to 40-year mortgage.
Habitat has built or recycled 22 homes — 19 in Port Townsend and three in Irondale about eight miles south. The existing homes house families with 47 children.
Those interested in the Quilcene program or who want to donate or volunteer, can phone 360-379-2827 or visit www.habitatejc.org.
