SI Downey Participates in Habitat for Humanity Project

SI Downey members Dorothy Pemberton, Ellie Eck, and President Patty Kotze were volunteers at the Habitat for Humanity volunteer site in Downey. Member got to do some fun querky things - cleaning the bathroom, putting up siding, caulking, and putting in locks. Today they were pouring concrete for the driveway, porch and sidewalk in. The rooms upstairs are blue and one sage for the kids. Mom will be downstairs in her own little serenity area.





Habitat's Downey Project and the Monroy Family

Habitat for Humanity is currently working on a house on Blodgett Street for the Monroy Family. Betty and her three children currently live in a 3-bedroom house in the city of Downey. Betty has tried to provide as decent a home for her children. There is an immediate feeling of welcome in her home. In attempts to hide the inadequacies of their home, furniture had been strategically placed to disguise badly worn and ripped carpet. The window coverings serve not
only as a way to ensure their privacy, but also to keep the window from falling out of its termite infested window frame. In addition to the visible termite damage throughout the home, the entire interior also has peeling paint. Some of the ceiling and cabinets appear to be held together by spackle that has built up over constant applications to hide the obvious water damage. While there isn’t much visible mold because Betty is constantly cleaning up the mold as much as possible, the smell is still strong, and the strongest mold fumes seem to come from her daughter’s room, a patio illegally converted into a room where the walls are only paneling and surrounds the home’s exterior fireplace. Her little girl can no longer sleep in her bedroom because of the conditions.

Despite the family’s challenging living conditions, Betty’s children have thrived. Betty is very involved in her children’s’ lives both academically and in sports. Although the boys have been in Special Education, no one would know –which attests to the excellent job Betty has done in raising them. She is a role model to her children every day. Betty volunteers as a Religious Education Teacher for St. Raymond’s, she also volunteers as a board member for the Downey Library Advisory Board, and is an active member of countless other organizations. Betty sums
up why she feels so strongly in volunteering by saying, “volunteering is the rent we pay to live on earth”. She further explained that doing sweat equity would be something that she would not just be willing to do but would do with love.
Betty sees herself as “a hard worker willing to do what ever it takes to meet my responsibilities. I am a father and a mother to my children and have proven that even in the direst situations, I have been triumphant."

Contributions By: Dorothy Pemberton and Monica Goel
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