The Episcopal Church enters the home building business

65,000 homes were lost due Hurricane Katrina and many of the deplaced are still living in FEMA trailers. The Hattiesburg American reports on a non-profit joint venture with participation by The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Missisippi:

“By the end of the first year of operations, Unity Homes expects to have produced 250 houses and employ 70 people,” Vallette said. “Within three years, we plan to be building at least 500 houses per year, with a production and field staff of over 125 people.”

The company is a nonprofit business that partners with Episcopal Relief and Development, the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi and Enterprise Corporation of the Delta, Vallette said.

Some of the homes built will go to people who meet income requirements, and by 2009 100 of them will go to a program to help single mothers with home ownership.

Read it here. Check out this earlier Episcopal Life story about the venture and the Hallelujah Housing program.

The contributions of Episcopalians have been recognized elsewhere. Check out this post-Katrina progress report from the New York Times titled “Building on Faith.” Excerpts:

About 105,000 dwellings, 71 percent of the housing stock, were damaged or destroyed in Orleans Parish by Hurricane Katrina, said Gregory C. Rigamer, a New Orleans demographics expert. About 56 percent of the city’s population has returned, Mr. Rigamer said, but resettlement has been erratic. In the Lower Ninth Ward, for instance, just 7 percent of residents have come back.

It is unclear exactly how much housing religiously affiliated groups and churches have built since last year, when most began their efforts. But interviews with five of the groups — Providence Community Housing, Habitat for Humanity, Volunteers of America, the Episcopal Diocese of New Orleans Jericho Road Project and First Evangelist Baptist Church — showed that since 2006, about 350 housing units have come onto the market, a pace officers at the groups said should accelerate as they acquire more property and line up financing.

There’s more about the Jericho Road project here.

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