By Rudy Arispe
La Prensa de San Antonio
San Antonio.- Sixty former high-school dropouts, who are now AmeriCorps members of SA Youth’s YouthBuild program, spent the past 17 months hammering, drilling and sawing to construct one of their biggest outdoor projects – a 1,216-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 2-bath house complete with energy-efficient features at 227 Jemison St. on the city’s East side.
Guests at 227 Jemison applauded the members for their work and delighted in viewing the brown-and-yellow, single-story home during an open house event Jan. 16. The house is for sale for $88,000 for a low-income, first-time homebuyer. Any family who is interested in purchasing the home or would like more information can contact SA Youth at (210) 223-3131 or e-mail Brooke Garcia at brooke@sanantonioyouth.org.
From June 2011 to November 2012, the 60 male and female participants, ages 16 to 24, laid the cement for the home’s foundation; constructed the frame; built the roof; installed lights, doors, windows and floors; painted the interior and exterior; and ran electrical wires through the house; among all other homebuilding tasks.
For her part, Irene Silva, 18, helped with the insulation of the house, installed the tiles on the living room and kitchen floor and assisted with the landscaping. “It was a lot of hard work, but I learned a lot, especially how to use tools,” she said. “Now when things are broken at my house I can fix them on my own and not have to call anyone. Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I can’t do construction work, too.”
Features of the house include…
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