Habitat to build home for veteran

Richmond County Daily Journal - 7/29/2019

Jul. 26--ROCKINGHAM -- Habitat for the Humanity of the NC Sandhills has selected its next recipient of a Habitat home: the Brown family, including Marine veteran Fati Brown, his daughters Jasmine and Airel and granddaughter, Jordyn.

Brown, who served in the Gulf War with the Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, began volunteering with Habitat about four years ago at the encouraging of a friend and has since worked as a lead volunteer in repair projects, home and ramp builds and community gardens put on by the nonprofit.

He said he wasn't volunteering with the intent of receiving a home, but his body of work and military led to him being offered a home.

"It's been great because in the process of helping myself I was able to help a lot of their people realize their dreams (of home ownership)," Brown said. "When you show up to people's houses and you're like, 'We're going to paint this house,' you seen the joy in their face."

"I haven't had an experience like this ... It's kind of like being in the military: you get to go above and beyond to help people. It's a special feeling."

For the last three years, Brown and his daughters and granddaughter have lived with his mother. Habitat will begin work on the Brown family's home on Wednesday, Sept. 11 next to a previous Habitat home at 391 Green Lake Rd., according to Amie Fraley, executive director of the Sandhills Habitat. Most of the building will be done from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday's and Saturdays, but this can be adjusted to fit a group's needs.

United Way, FirstHealth, Richmond County Schools, Evolution, and the Richmond Service League are sponsoring the build. On Oct. 5, Habitat will hold a Pastor's Day which they hope to have at least 20 pastors volunteering to help with the build.

Brown said the most fulfilling project he's been a part of while working with Habitat has been the ongoing work on a community garden in Roseland Crossings in Moore County. There, Habitat has turned one of the plots that they weren't able to build a home on into a garden which is run by the residents of other Habitat homes.

"It's my favorite because it's ongoing. It's not, 'OK, we're going to meet here, help this person and then leave.' It's been like a baby of mine ... It's a gift that keeps on giving," Brown said. "At the end of the season when the people are able to eat what we grew, that's a good feeling."

Brown is a farmer himself, growing different crops and raising honey bees, and said in the future he hopes to help Roseland start and maintain a chicken coup.

He said his daughters, Jasmine, 18, and Airel, 17, and Jasmine's 3-year-old daughter Jordyn are excited about the move. Brown called the new home a "major improvement" over their current situation which was meant to be a temporary arrangement.

The prospect of getting a new home wasn't real until Habitat called him to get his preferences on the color and the furnishings, Brown said.

"(Habitat was) looking for me and I was looking for them -- it was a case of being in the right place at the right time," he said. "Some people call it being blessed."

Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2674 or [email protected]

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