By Gerri Miller
Staff Writer
A disabled Prattville woman raising her three grandchildren in a home that is unsafe for her family will soon have a better quality of life thanks to Habitat for Humanity of Autauga and Chilton Counties and community supporters.
Mary Cozadd is raising three children ages four to 10 in a home she considers unfit for both herself and her grandchildren. “The ceiling and the walls have mold in the sheet rock and the insulation,” Cozadd said. “The ceiling fell in and parts were warped due to a leaking roof. The bathroom floor has a hole at the base of the shower stall where the floor is rotted with mold on the wall.”
Cozadd said there are several places throughout the house where the floor is rotted and unsafe to walk on. There is mold throughout some of the other walls of the mobile home.
“The kitchen cabinets are falling apart and there is mold/dry rot under the sink,” Cozadd said. “The front door does not close all the way and even with a bolt lock that I added, it does not close completely. The floor in both entry ways around the door is rotted. There is a serious sewer issue which causes a foul smell erecting from a sewer into the home. There are some electrical issues and the breaker trips easily. In addition, there is not much storage space leaving little to no room for the kids to play. The neighborhood is not the safest.”
Finding better housing is a difficult task for Cozadd, who is disabled with several medical conditions which prevent her from working a normal job. Prior to her disability, she worked for Church’s Chicken in Prattville for more than 20 years.
Thanks to the efforts of Habitat for Humanity, Cozadd and her family won’t have to live in such conditions much longer. The organization is leading efforts to build a new home for the family in a safer neighborhood at 936 Lower Kingston Road. Construction is scheduled to begin on April 3rd and be completed in late June or early July, said Felicia Riley, a resource development representative with the organization.
Riley said construction days will be scheduled on Wednesdays and Saturdays and volunteers are encouraged to help with the building, landscaping or providing meals for the crews. Businesses and organizations are also encouraged to donate in-kind services, money or materials for the project. Individuals who volunteer at job sites must be at least 16 years old or 14 years old on landscaping day. All minors require adult supervision. Youth groups are encouraged to contact Riley for information on community service opportunities.
Currently the organization needs to raise about $30,000 to complete the project. It typically costs around $80,000 per house to complete a project, Riley said. To help raise the money, Habitat for Humanity is having a “Bricks of Love” fundraiser. The bricks inscribed with the donor’s name will be placed as a walkway to the new home so that the family will always see who made their dreams a reality.
A 4 x 8 brick can be purchased for $125 and an 8 x 8 brick is $175. The deadline for the fundraiser is April 15th and bricks can be purchased by contacting the Habitat for Humanity office at 334-365-4132.
“I loved this idea when she (Riley) ran it by me,” Cozadd said. “All those bricks mean memories for years to come.”
Like all potential Habitat for Humanity homeowners, Cozadd must attend 25 hours of class time on subjects such as finances, budgeting, home maintenance, understanding escrow and insurance and yard care. Cozadd said she has taken four classes so far. She also participated with 100 “sweat hours” and will work an additional 100 hours when the organization starts on her home.
Cozadd said she can’t begin to say how thankful she is or how blessed she feels for being selected for a home that will provide much safer living conditions and an overall better quality of life for her grandchildren.
“The people I have met from Habitat for Humanity have been so kind to me and my family,” she said. “I will be forever grateful.
The local Habitat chapter just dedicated a home in Clanton on Friday where 30 volunteers participated in the project. Riley said the organization plans to construct two houses this year with the second project beginning construction in September with completion expected in December.
The Autauga County Habitat for Humanity was formed in 1993 and the Habitat for Humanity of Chilton County was formed in 2003. The two affiliates joined together and updated the name in 2009. To date, the affiliate has built 45 homes between the two counties and has served an additional 17 families in Central America and the Caribbean through its tithe to Habitat International.
