Habitat for Humanity -

Bringing Heart And Hard Work

To The Housing Market

The Reverend Ann M. Beams has set some goals for herself as the new president of Housatonic Habitat for Humanity.

Rev Beams, a Dodgingtown resident, lists those goals as getting new housing built and existing housing rehabilitated for low-income families, raising the profile of Habitat in the region, and strengthening the volunteerism aspect of the organization.

Habitat recently elected Rev Beams as its president for a one-year term. The Presbyterian minister replaces Christie Davey, who had served as Habitat’s president for the past three years.

On Sunday, March 11, the organization dedicated a new Habitat house, which its volunteer members had built at 20 Rowan Street in Danbury for Janette Worthington and her daughter. The group plans several housing rehabilitation projects on Rowan Street in Danbury this year.

The Rowan Street house is the fourth home to be built by the organization. Habitat has built two of those houses on Philo Curtis Road in Sandy Hook, completing one in 1999 and the other in 2000.

Rev Beams noted that Habitat is interested in acquiring one of several houses on Queen Street in Newtown, which Newtown has bought from the state. Habitat volunteers would modernize the house as a residence for a low-income family.

To fund its home building and modernization efforts, Habitat seeks donations from organizations and individuals, and receives mortgage payments from the people who buy Habitat homes.

A Newtown resident since 1989, Rev Beams lives in Dodgingtown with her husband Mark, who is an attorney for General Electric, and her son Owen, who is a sophomore at Newtown High School. The Beams’ daughter, Claire, a 2000 Newtown High School graduate, is a student at Princeton University.

Ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1980 at age 24, Rev Beams, 45, is the parish associate minister at Valley Presbyterian Church in Brookfield. Rev Beams has served as an interim minister at several Presbyterian parishes in Connecticut since 1989.

Habitat is ecumenical, attracting people from many religious backgrounds, Rev Beams noted.

Rev Beams was a member of the original Habitat board when the organization was founded a decade ago. After an absence, she returned to the organization in 1999. She helped organize Habitat’s construction of the two houses in Sandy Hook.

“I see my skills as people development skills,” she said, noting that she will work to have volunteers reach their capacity on Habitat projects, and ensure that their experience working for Habitat is a positive one.

“We’re getting better at it with each house,” Rev Beams said of the experience that Habitat has gained as it has completed projects in the region.

Of the group’s efforts to provide suitable, safe new and rehabilitated housing for low-income families, she said, “It’s a hand up, not a hand out.”

Habitat has relocated its offices from Bailey Street in Ridgefield to Padanaram Road in Danbury. The move is intended to bring the volunteer organization physically closer to much of its work.

Housatonic Habitat for Humanity serves the towns of Newtown, Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, New Fairfield, Redding, and Ridgefield. While the average price of a three-bedroom house in the region is more than $200,000, houses built by the non-profit tax-exempt organization cost under $70,000. The houses are sold by Habitat without profit, through no-interest loans to qualifying families, which invest at least 400 hours of “sweat equity” in the project.

Habitat is an independent, non-profit organization responsible for its fundraising, site selection, family selection and nurturing, construction, and mortgage servicing. Under the Habitat system, a participating family makes a down payment of one percent on a house and invests 400 hours of sweat equity in building the house. The family buys the home at cost, paying a no-interest mortgage into a revolving fund to finance the construction of more homes. Information on Habitat is available at the organization’s Web site on the Internet at www.danburyhabitat.org.