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Katz: Let's begin by telling me about your house after the Hurricane? Holmes: My apartment was totally destroyed. My kids rooms, they caved in...the walls. And in my bedroom, the wall was split in half. It's a twostory house. The clothes, the furniture, it was all a mess. Katz: Did you stay in the house during the storm? Holmes: No, we went to my mamma's house. We went back the day after and I cried. I thought, that if we'd have stayed in the house we would've been dead. Katz: How many of you are in the family? Holmes: There are three kids and then I adopted my nephew. Four boys from the oldest one 16, then 12, and 6 and my nephew who'll be two on my birthday in December. There was 12 of us at mamma's house and there still is. Katz: What did you say to yourself when you saw the damage? Holmes: Oh my God. I have no insurance...renter's insurance. I didn't know anything about it. You know I did go to a meeting before the storm at a real estate company and they mentioned it, concerning it but I didn't...just that everything was ruined. Katz: Do you have alot of family down here? Holmes: My mother took in twelve of us. She lost two bedrooms herself, and a bath and all of her windows, but the windows are fixed and we have a temporary roof now, but every time it rains, it still leaks. Katz: How did you ever think about Habitat as your "saving grace?" Holmes: My sister started asking me alot of questions about me, and when I asked her why, she said she was submitting my name and her name too. Then we went to a meeting and they read names of all the people who put in a application. They didn't read my name. I wondered why not? They only read that they had her application. Katz: What criteria did you need in order to qualify? Holmes: I knew that you had to have a job to get it, you couldn't be unemployed. They prefer working people with a family. I don't know how they did the salary. They called her first,not me, and I was thinkin that maybe they checked my credit and I thought that was a problem for me. So then the Habitat man said my file was not complete. I needed to take my W2 and a check stub and give it to them for verification. Then the next week they told my sister to meet them again, but not me. I went along anyway and I asked about my application, and a week later they called me at work. But I was at a workshop at MetroDade so I didn't get the message on Friday. When I came to work Monday I got the message they'd called. So I kept calling Monday, Tuesday and the lady wasn't in...she was out in the field. Finally, she called me on Thursday..and told me and I was sayin "hooray" " "for real?" " for real?" "oh, My God!" I told all my coworkers and I thought, "this is my blessing." Katz: Once you were chosen, what came next? Holmes: They told me the site where they would be building my house and we met there at 7:30 in the morning on Saturday. I couldn't take but the older boy, you have to be sixteen to go on the site...but the kids were so excited just knowing it. Katz: But it's not easy to get the house, is it? Holmes: No way. You have to put in alot of sweat. Four hundred hours all together before you can get the deed to the house. But before you move in... the area we have is 6 houses, six families... and all 6 houses have to be built before you can move in. So everybody has to help everybody. If one is finished, and the next one isn't you have to help them, it's not like you're just worried about yourself... you work on everybody's house. It's a Christian organization and people helping each other is the way. Katz: I understand you have a theory as to why the Habitat homes in Miami survived the storm better than alot of others? Holmes: Well, the main reason is that before they start everyday they say a prayer...to make things go smoothly, to make the day go well, and there's no bickering out there. It's friends...like a friendship thing. It's real nice. And they take more care with the construction...one thing for sure, they put nails in these houses. Not just one, two, three nails, I mean alot! Katz: The average person doesn't know how to build a house. So how do you learn? Holmes: I sure didn't...well, it's on the job...I even helped put up the frame...there's alot of lifting and when one side of the frame was up, we applauded! It's fun, you get alot of experience. Alot of men never did this before either. But alot of people supervise ...they want to have all 6 houses ready for December. But before we can move in, the family has to do 100 hours themselves. Each person gets credit no matter how long or short they work. You can get credit. The more you have...you sign in and out...they have bookkeeping forms. Katz: So in a way, you'll have a better house than before the Hurricane? Holmes: That's for true...Before we had 2 bedrooms, now we have three and we know it's good. Yeah, we'll be better off than before. I had looked at buying a house before but I had some bills that needed to be cleared up and it kept me from the house when they did a credit check. Katz: Are people jealous that you were chosen? Holmes: I suppose they could be. But I am a selfcentered person, in a good way. Mostly I have my family and friends and I guess somebody probably said that, but I can only say, well,you know that anyone can apply. They are supposed to build in the Richmond Heights and Goulds areas if they get the property. They want to build 50 more off Redland Road after they do these six. Katz: Has Jimmy Carter dropped by yet? Holmes: No, but Bob Graham came one morning. Y Katz: You'll have a real "neighborhood" of the 6 houses when you're finished, something special you have shared, are you folks getting to be friends during all of this? Holmes: Yes, we knew each other before and now it's better. People walk over and ask for applications and information. We tell them and we share the information with them. Katz: Can you describe the feeling you have, knowing you built your own home? Holmes: I can say this...If everyone could get a Habitat home, there would be alot of happy people, that's for sure. They can say, this is mine, it's lots of hard work, that's true and I'm proud.
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