Volunteers gather to build sections of Habitat homes
Will become housing for Elwood families in need
The Rev. Ton Nguyen’s days at Saint Julie Billiart Catholic Church are winding down as the associate pastor at the Tinley Park church, as he will be taking a similar position at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.
He is heading to the city on July 1 and as he gets ready for the big move, he had a chance to take a few minutes on Saturday morning to reflect on his time at St. Julie, which began in 2019.
While he was talking in the church’s south parking lot, thousands of nails were being pounded into lumber.
That rat-a-tat racket was a part of the CrossRoads Missions/Habitat for Humanity house construction project. Volunteers from St. Julie and other churches in the area took park in building two houses that will end up in a neighborhood in Elwood for families in need. A little further north, Marist High School students and volunteers were also building houses as a part of the effort on Friday and Saturday.
Nguyen said that it is events like this is what makes this area special during his time here.
“It’s a beautiful thing to see the community come out for a common project,” he said. “Since we are Catholic, everything is built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. And building these homes is with that idea.
“We can easily sign a check and be done with it, but this is hands on. You work. While people are working, they can say a prayer for those who move into the homes. I’m very excited and this is wonderful.”
Hundreds of volunteers came from St. Julie, St. George and St. Stephen of Tinley Park, St. Elizabeth Seton of Orland Hills, St. Michael and St. Francis of Assisi of Orland Park and Incarnation of Crestwood. More than a hundred more helped out at Marist. The volunteers built walls, which will be stored by Will County Habitat for Humanity. Skilled workers will complete the houses in Elwood.
“It’s put together like a jigsaw puzzle,” said Sister Gael Gensler, a pastoral associate at St. Francis. “And it’s wonderful for people to get together for a project. When you get this many people working together, it’s awesome.”
CrossRoads Missions is based in Louisville and project manager Joe Wilson and his wife, Colleen, oversaw the projects. From February through October, Colleen said CrossRoads travels throughout the country building homes.
“You think about the families and what these houses mean to them. We’re not just building houses. We’re building lives,” Colleen said. “These are for people who have never owned a home and they are struggling to learn to be homeowners. Some of them may be the first one in generations to own their own home. It’s very exciting to see that we’re building lives. I’m really, really excited. It’s not just houses.”
During the Saturday morning session at St.
Julie, event chairman Matt Vieck said a few words while Pastor Tirso Villaverde Jr. led the group in prayer.
On Friday evening, some of the Marist students were ready to get rolling even though many of them had no experience with something like this.
CrossRoads officials say they have a system which make the process easy.
Graduated senior Declan Swistowicz, a wrestler and boxer heading to Michigan Tech, agrees.
“If you follow directions, it can be easy,” he said.
Another graduated senior, Michael Eberhardt, who is heading to Marquette for engineering, looked forward to working on the project.
“I haven’t done anything this big,” he said. “It’s a chance to give back and when I heard about it, I figured I would try it. My friends are doing it.”
Grace Greene, who is heading to Moraine Valley Community College for film studies, added: “It’s a good cause and it’s something to do to start the summer off.”
Nora Moore, who just wrapped up her junior year, said she is learning something new with her friends.
“To every single student, Marist is like a home to us,” she said. “It’s our second home. So, to be able to build a home at what we call our second home is awesome.”
Kim Medonia, the school’s director of mission and ministry, said she has helped with projects like this when she was at St. John Fisher School and called it a “huge success” and thought it would be a great opportunity for the Marist community.
Back at St. Julie, the level of experience in projects like this differed vastly.
Julie McDermid of Homer Glen, who attends St. Francis, walked around the St. Julie lot with lumber over her shoulder looking like she knew what she was doing.
She does know what she’s doing.
“I helped a friend rehab a home in the Florida Keys after Hurricane Irma,” she said. “The house got destroyed in 2017. “I’m happy I can be able to help here.”