Richard and Angela Sherman and their children Daniel and Nicole currently live in an apartment that Richard describes as "a prison." It is small and cramped -- "one step from the kitchen to the living room, another step to the bedroom" -- but the lack of space is nothing compared to the grim neighborhood surroundings. The apartment is on Union Street, in Windsor, N.H. and the block is infested with shootings, drugs, alcohol and violence. Their apartment has been vandalized five times. "We're asked why we keep our kids cooped up in the house, but we can't let them out to play here," Richard said. There are shards of broken glass all around the street and Nicole, who is four years old, once picked up a drug needle. Richard decided that he had to do something for his family. That's when he applied for a house built by Habitat for Humanity.
The Dartmouth chapter of Habitat works with the Upper Valley chapter to build a house every two years for families who are homeless or live in substandard housing. The Upper Valley chapter's Family Selection Committee, which includes one or two Dartmouth students, reviews potential recipients for the house. In 2006, the Sherman family was among 60 applicants. Eventually, the number narrowed down to 20 formal applicants, and then six families received extensive home visits before Angela received the congratulatory phone call. The family recalls that moment as utter disbelief, with Richard rushing home from work, and Angela greeting him at the door jumping up and down with excitement. "I couldn't go past the front door because she was just jumping all over!" he said.
The house, which is being built on Meriden Road in Lebanon, will be sold to the family for approximately $100,000. Dartmouth Habitat co-chair Susie Chung '07, who was part of the Family Selection Committee three years ago, said that the recipient family is chosen bearing in mind need as well as ability to meet obligations. The responsibilities include repaying a no-down-payment, no-interest mortgage and "sweat equity," which means that the family has to contribute 500 hours to help build their house. The "sweat equity" component has been no problem for Richard, since he was trained as a finish carpenter, and he said he was especially excited to start working on the interior of the house. He goes to work on the site every single Saturday.
The house started construction slightly behind schedule in mid-summer, and because of paperwork delays, will not be ready for move-in before April. But the Shermans have already moved in at heart. The family has packed up most of their boxes so that they can move out within hours of the Lebanon house's completion.
There have been some other positive changes for the Shermans too. Richard and Angela formalized their relationship soon after the selection (partly to ease the paperwork), and they plan to have a fancier wedding ceremony in their new backyard. Angela also had some debt she acquired before meeting Richard, but Don Derrick, the Executive Director of Upper Valley Habitat, said that the couple has been diligent about clearing up their credit issues. Still, money is tight, as Richard earns $9 per hour at his full-time job at the West Lebanon Burger King, and Angela $10 per hour from her part-time job at Wal-Mart. They also recently had to purchase a new van to replace their shaky old one, which Richard said was "unsafe for the children" and are still working out the bills.
Regardless of their other worries, the family is in high spirits at the prospect of leaving their Windsor apartment. The dangerous neighborhood atmosphere had been especially hard for Angela, who sometimes couldn't hold back tears when the children had to witness drunken fights down the street. Richard said that he "cannot express with words" the gratitude he feels toward Dartmouth students and other community members who volunteer at the site.
"With all the fighting that's going on in the world, it is amazing that people give up their free time to help a total stranger," he said. He is having all the volunteers sign a poster board so that the family can remember them. The family also intends to volunteer at Habitat after their house project is done, so that they can give back what they are poised to receive.
With all the volunteers working hard, the three-bedroom house will be up in three months. It is approximately 20 by 40 feet, and will have a basement and spacious backyard as well. The Shermans are looking forward to planting a garden, raking leaves and making snowmen in the winter. And as a special treat, Richard plans to take some days off once the family is settled in.
"I'm going to sit out front and open and close the front door all day and all night, just because I can," he said, "and it's my house."
