Habitat Road Trip Crazies to build house in Struthers in 2 days

STRUTHERS

When asked for her reaction to a life-changing event going on next to her amid the continual sounds of power saws, clanking boards and people’s instructions to one another, Janine DePaola found it hard to get past “amazing.”

“It’s unbelievable. I feel excitement and nervousness all coming together at a single time,” DePaola said, referring to the new two-bedroom home being built for her during a two-day Blitz Build that began Saturday morning and is expected to wrap up today.

Spearheading the project is Habitat for Humanity of the Mahoning Valley, along with members of the Habitat Road Trip Crazies, a diverse, loose-knit group of volunteers from 14 states who travel to small communities two or three times a year to plan, organize and help build homes in a matter of days.

To fulfill one of her requirements for owning the home, DiPaola worked with the volunteers, adding insulation and helping to erect some of the walls. She intends to move in with her dog by late summer, said DiPaola, a customer-service representative with Central Optical who lives with her mother in Liberty Township.

Many of the estimated 120 volunteers working on the 950-square-foot, one-story, one-bath home at 58 Ridgeway St. spent Saturday afternoon adding plywood panels to its interior and roof, installing windows, taking measurements, doing landscaping, adding siding and performing numerous other construction tasks.

Read more about the project and the group in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.