Background

In 2010, Habitat for Humanity HRM is building community in a new way. In partnership with the Saint Leonard’s Society of Nova Scotia (SLSNS), Habitat HRM, its volunteers and sponsors will be working to make some much needed upgrades to two facilities providing emergency shelter in HRM.We will be bringing together volunteers and trades people to renovate Metro Turning Point and Barry House, both located in Halifax.

We have opportunities for Crew Leaders, general volunteers and Adopt-A-Day challenge teams.See below for more about the specifics for each project.

Metro Turning Point

Metro Turning Point is an emergency shelter for men and has been helping people transition from crisis back to community for over 30 years.It currently houses up to 80 men.ReBuild 2010 volunteer teams will be working on a number of projects including building a deck, removing shelving and fixtures, painting, flooring and a variety of general repairs.

In addition to general build volunteers, we need to fill the following specific volunteer roles at the Metro Turning Point facility:

Crew Leaders – Crew Leaders are experienced volunteers able to lead volunteers in particular tasks assigned by the construction manager.In some cases, qualified Crew Leaders will be asked to supervise activities in the absence of, and at the request of, the construction manager.Crew Leaders shifts will be from 8:00-4:00 daily and are asked to commit to a minimum of 5 shifts during the build.In particular, we are looking for Crew Leaders with deck building experience for approximately 2 weeks from July 15, and for paint Leaders during early August.

Volunteer Services – register and greet volunteers in the morning and ensure that all volunteers have completed all safety training and received daily site and task orientation.The shift for this task will be 8:00 – 10:00 daily.Volunteers for this role will be asked to commit to multiple shifts during the build.

Barry House Women Build

Barry House is a 20 bed shelter for women and their children who are experiencing homelessness. It operates with a harm reduction philosophy and has been offering emergency housing since 2001.

We are pleased to announce that we will be running our Barry House ReBuild as a Women Build project. Habitat for Humanity Canada's Women Build program promotes the involvement of women in the construction of Habitat houses. Women-built projects provide an opportunity for women to learn construction and to take on leadership roles in a supportive environment. While we will not be excluding men from participating in support of this project, we will be seeking to fill as many roles as possible with women volunteers, and will designate many days as women only on the build site.

Most of the activity at Barry House will be outside. Please note, the most significant undertaking of the project will be scraping and repainting the exterior of the house.This will involve working on scaffolding.The scaffolding will be enclosed and protected and we will ensure that all volunteers are comfortable at the task if they are on the scaffolding.However, if you are nervous of heights, you might prefer to wait until after the first 3 weeks when we begin working on other tasks.Other projects will include removing a shed, repairing / replacing steps, levelling the driveway, landscape work, building a sheltered sitting area, and installing interior shelving.

In addition to general build volunteers, we are seeking:

Crew Leaders - able to lead teams in painting, especially exterior work, and in landscaping.Please see the description of Crew Leaders given under Metro Turning Point.

Volunteer Services – register and greet volunteers in the morning and ensure that all volunteers have completed all safety training and received daily site and task orientation.The shift for this task will be 8:00 – 10:00 daily.Volunteers for this role will be asked to commit to multiple shifts during the build.

Details

ReBuild 2010 started August 9 at Barry House and will begin late August at Metro Turning Point.  We will build 8:30-3:30, Monday to Friday until about mid-September.  We anticipate adding some Saturday shifts and also plan several off-site shifts at the ReStore building components such as shelves for installation on site.

Contact volunteer@habitathrm.com for more information on any of these roles.

Due to space limitations, there will be a maximum of 10 volunteers on site for most shifts.