By renovating a Center Point area home for a Hispanic family, volunteers with HICA are working to honor the memory of Cesar Chavez through Habitat for Humanity. "I work for HICA the Hispanic interest Coalition of Alabama. Today we are trying to paint and help them make everything perfect for this house," said Lorena Vasquez. "Every day in the office we help people with case management and with resources and here we are because we also wanted to help our community actually hands-on.”
Repair Program Manager Jack Hake with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Birmingham said about fifty volunteers from HICA, the UAB Chapter of the Red Cross, and other groups were expected to help today. It's part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to purchase and fix up foreclosed homes.
Volunteers say this program gives them the chance to help in a way that has immediate results and long term benefits for people who might otherwise not be able to afford a home. Organizers say it also helps all the homes in the area and sometimes it even puts people back to work.
"We're hiring contractors to do the work and they're going in and redoing the homes," said Jack Hake. "We're actually having families come back in them and that's good for property values anywhere instead of having foreclosed homes all around you."
"We're going to be able to appreciate what we did for this family and this family is going to be able to be happy for that through us," said Lorena Vasquez.
"March 31st is the official Cesar Chavez Day of Learning and Service, which is his birthday, and it's a recognized state holiday in some states.Cesar Chavez was a non-violent leader in the 1960's who struggled for the rights of immigrant farm workers," said HICA volunteer Vanessa Stevens. "So, helping a Hispanic family work towards owning their own home, helping advance them and their life in the United States is really important to HICA and I think something Cesar Chavez...Cesar Chavez's legacy would endorse."
