YouthBuild works on first handicapped-accessible Habitat for Humanity of Spartanburg home

March 19--Spartanburg resident Chiquette Johnson is excited about soon becoming the new owner of a home more suitable for her family's needs.

Johnson has been renting a duplex in Spartanburg where she lives with her two sons, Cory, 10, and Conner, 3. The space is a challenging one in which to care for Conner, who has a congenital genetic disorder and is wheelchair bound.

When Johnson became eligible for a Habitat home, Habitat for Humanity of Spartanburg decided to build one that would be more handicapped-accessible.

The family's future three-bedroom, two-bathroom house at 589 Vernon St. in the Northside neighborhood is Habitat Spartanburg's first handicapped-accessible home.

"Where I am now it's harder to maneuver Conner's wheelchair," Johnson said. "I'm looking forward to having a larger bathroom where I'll be able to push him in while he's in his wheelchair. Habitat was more interested in my situation as far as my son and his safety, and our stability."

Peggy Magarahan, construction coordinator for Habitat Spartanburg, said the house isn't fully ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant, but the nonprofit made modifications within its budget to build the house with a zero threshold entry, full turnaround bathroom and large shower stall.

The main hallway and doorways were built wider for easier wheelchair accessibility, increasing the house's square footage to almost 1,400 square feet, Magarahan said.

"We also took the driveway up the side of the home so when (Johnson) parks, the back of her car will be level so she can get the wheelchair out of the back and not be on any kind of slope," she said. "It's more than what we usually do on a Habitat house, but we get it; it would have been hard for her with the wheelchair."

Johnson's Habitat house and another four-bedroom, two-bathroom house at 581 Vernon St. are being worked on by participants in Spartanburg Housing Authority's YouthBuild program.

The Housing Authority donated the two Vernon Street lots to Habitat Spartanburg for the first YouthBuild-sponsored houses, which are nearly finished.

YouthBuild is a free program that gives low-income young adults ages 16-24 the opportunity to transform their lives and give back to the community. The program's participants attend classes and GED prep workshops and also gain hands-on work experience in construction with Habitat Spartanburg.

"It's been a great experience partnering with Habitat," said Sheila Anderson, YouthBuild program coordinator. "The YouthBuild program incorporates a community service aspect, and this is definitely community service."

Rasaleem Rice, 19, is one of about a dozen active YouthBuild participants working on the Habitat homes. Rice said he's learned skills needed to one day build his own house.

"YouthBuild has ways of helping you out if you want to reach a goal in your life. It's the great part of joining," he said. "Even if you already have your education and you just want to learn how to build a home like this, there's room for you to fill in. Habitat is a great thing -- getting outside and giving a little bit of extra time."

Lee Close, executive director of Habitat Spartanburg, said he is optimistic about future partnerships with YouthBuild.

"The great thing about the program is (the students) are going to classes in the morning to get their GEDs and then coming to our sites in the afternoon to learn job skills," he said. "We're very hopeful that that will continue to be successful."

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