PORT TOWNSEND — Three couples — from three Western states — have RV’d their way to this far corner of the country not just to sightsee but to address the affordable housing shortage.
“This is our first build after the COVID reopening,” said Meghan Marten of Ruidoso, N.M., while taking a short break from working on a Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County job site in the Howard Street-Eddy Street neighborhood.
Marten and her husband Tom first met on another Habitat build more than seven years ago. They’ve since become Care-a-Vanners, part of the nation-roaming, RV-driving team that volunteers with Habitat affiliates in places such as Port Townsend.
The Martens also met their co-workers and friends, Janet and Dave Bachtel of Roseville, Calif., and Judith Noiseux and Hans Klaudt of Tucson, Ariz., on Habitat builds, and have since mapped out new forays such as this two-week stint.
Tom Marten has done about 40 of these builds since he began in 2008, his wife estimated, while she’s worked on about 15 since her first one in 2014.
While Tom, like the rest of this group, is retired, Meghan, a financial analyst, is taking a temporary break from her paying job.
On Habitat job sites, “we do a lot of the same things but in a different way,” which keeps it interesting, she said.
They’ve done nearly everything, start to finish, from framing to flooring to installing lights and faucets. They’ve laid slabs. They’ve painted and painted some more. And the favorite task for Meghan, 40, is roofing.
“I like shingling a lot,” along with all of the learning that happens.
To become a Habitat for Humanity builder, you do not need to know a thing about construction, she added.
“You can show up on the job site and somebody will teach you, and over time, you learn each thing, and you teach the next person,” said Meghan, who has gained plentiful on-the-job experience in towns such as Luck, Wis., Lafayette, La., and Las Cruces and Santa Fe, N.M.
“Walla Walla was a great build,” she recalled, adding she and Tom had never been to Port Townsend but had heard from other Care-a-Vanners that this Habitat affiliate is well-run.
Across the United States and around the world, Habitat for Humanity constructs homes for single people, couples and families who qualify for the affordable-mortgage program. Employing what’s called sweat equity, the homeowners join other local volunteers — and sometimes visiting Care-a-Vanners — to construct their houses from the ground up.
The three couples in town through this week are spending nights at the Port Townsend Elks Lodge, which provided discounted parking, with utilities, for their RVs. That contribution ensured Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County’s participation in the program, said marketing and communications manager Genevieve Peterson.
Since their arrival April 25, “the RV Care-a-Vanners have really moved this home along in terms of how much work they have done: window and door cutouts and bumpouts, blueboards, window installation, trim and corners,” Peterson said, adding the siding on the house is on this week’s agenda.
This house belongs to Katey, a young mother; she applied successfully to become a Habitat owner — and when she found out her place was in this neighborhood, she was thrilled, since it’s within walking distance from where her mother, Mindy, lives. Katey asked that their surname not be used to protect their privacy.
The Care-a-Vanners, meanwhile, are booked to return to Port Townsend for another two-week stay later this month, and again in June, July and September.
“We are hoping to have the construction finished and the home ready for occupancy by this autumn,” Peterson said.
For more about volunteering with and supporting Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County’s efforts to repair and build homes, visit habitatEJC.org. Information about neighboring Clallam County’s affiliate can be found at www.habitatclallam.org.
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Jefferson County Senior Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz @peninsuladailynews.com.
