The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Vet’s dream comes true
Couple never thought they’d afford a house
PORTLAND — Combat veteran Dustin Fitzpatrick is so excited about the construction of his future home that he’s already planning the contents of a time capsule he’ll hide in the wall for his children.
Fitzpatrick, who lives in Middletown with his wife Yiran and 8-month-old daughter Sophia, will be the latest beneficiary of a three-bedroom, two-floor house in Portland near Gildersleeve School courtesy of Middlesex Habitat for Humanity of Connecticut
The Glastonbury-based architect firm The S/L/A/M Collaborative organized 18 members of its team to participate in two build days June 16 and 23 to construct the Fitzpatrick family’s colonial-style house.
SLAM volunteers turned out to construct walls, staircases and insulation, donating their free time on the weekend for a good cause.
Fitzpatrick, who grew up in a family of construction workers, said his grandmother cut out a notice in the paper looking for veterans to submit applications for the next build a couple months ago.
When his new place is complete in April, he’ll take those clippings, along with photos of the volunteers and his family, and write a note explaining how he acquired the 30-year, no-interest loan for the energy-efficient house. He plans to secure them in a plastic bag inside a shoebox. He and his wife hope to have another child down the road to add to their growing family.
“That way when the children are adults, we can cut the wall open, get the box, look at it, and put it back. You never know: 100, 200 years from now, someone could do a remodel and find the box and think, ‘Wow. This is cool,’ ” Fitzpatrick said.
Tracy Caisse, a SLAM architect and volunteer who took part in the June 23 work day, has been involved in several of these projects, including those in Middletown, and Portland. The latter was right next door to the Fitzpatricks’ future residence.
This was the first time she got to know a Habitat beneficiary, she said.
“Having Dustin there and hearing about all the experience he has and how grateful he was —he was so excited to be working on his house. I don’t even know if I can put it into words, but it’s just the most rewarding feeling,” Caisse said.
When she heard about the time-capsule idea, she was delighted.
“That shows how grateful he is. The whole experience is going to be life-changing for him, and he’s just so honored. He’s so driven. I’m sure he’s going to going to give back some day (to Habitat),” she said.
Fitzpatrick, a former Marine Corps machine gunner, spent four years in the Corps. He had two deployments: on a Navy ship doing tactical recovery of air personnel, and then was sent to Afghanistan.
He’s attending Quinnipiac University on the GI Bill and has the summer off, something that will not only allow him to spend as much time as he can with Sophia, but also free up days to work on the home.
Maria Elena Lopez, administrative assistant at Habitat in Cromwell, is build-days organizer. She said eligibility is determined by need, and mortgage payments are no greater than 30 percent of a family’s income.
This is Habitat’s 15th house and one build is done a year. Already, Middletown, Portland and East Hampton have Habitat houses.
“This was an anonymous, private donor. They were specific that they wanted a military house and they wanted it in Portland. Our director was very adamant about getting this set aside for a military family. It was something she’s wanted to do for a long time,” Lopez said.
It’s the organization’s first project with a member of the armed services.
The plot, large enough for two houses, was donated two years ago. Fitzpatrick’s neighbor occupies the Habitat house next door.
Typically, there are between 30 and 50 applicants for these residences, who meet with a selection committee and take part in home visits and other steps to be considered, Lopez said.
Fitzpatrick decided to leave the military once his four years were up because he was stationed in a dangerous region in Afghanistan. He found out he was selected by Habitat about two weeks ago — when construction had already begun.
“Considering he’s a veteran, and has given so much to our country, being able to give back to him, having it being someone local to us, it means a lot. It’s a tremendous amount of pride we have in able to do that,” said SLAM Build Day Coordinator Derek Czenczelewski.
A typical home takes five months to construct, with a full-time crew working five or more days a week, he said. This project takes a little bit longer. “It’s a big community effort,” Czenczelewski said.
Webster Bank also helped with funding and volunteers.
Build days typically run from the morning to 3 p.m. and Habitat asks that people spend the whole time on site for safety reasons.
He and other SLAM collaborators derive joy and professional experience from these projects.
“It also helps from a learning perspective to be a part of it being built, as opposed to just drawing the houses and having a construction staff that goes out and builds them,” Czenczelewski said.
Despite being an architect, Caisse said she hadn’t had hands-on experience with building a home.
“Anyone who is going into the field of architecture or engineering — whether it’s residential or not — should definitely do this as part of their experience. A lot of times, we have to have volunteer experience anyway when you’re pursuing your license,” she said.
“Knowing what you draw on paper and what gets built in the field — what construction tolerances (commonly accepted standards of the industry) are, and how things can be built (is understood) because you are are there doing it yourself,” Caisse added.
Meanwhile, the couple can’t wait to move in. Homeownership once seemed like a pipe dream for their little family.
“I never thought while going to school, we’d be able to get a house,” Fitzpatrick said. “We figured it would be years before we could afford a house, so I’m still in disbelief,” he added.
Habitat is always looking for volunteers. For information, visit habitatmiddlesex.org or call Maria Lopez at 860-343-9179.