Habitat for Humanity Club builds houses in aftermath of Hurricane Helene
Over Fall Break, the Notre Dame Habitat for Humanity Club travelled to North Carolina to help build houses for those in need of affordable housing in the Asheville area. Asheville faced a wave of devastation during Hurricane Helene, a natural disaster that caused nearly 60 billion dollars in damage and killed over 100 people in October 2024.
From Monday to Friday of break, the ten students—ranging from freshmen to graduate students—spent their days on various types of construction work, from laying sod to nailing siding to building roofs.
The students worked at two Habitat neighborhoods in the Asheville area, Glenbridge and New Heights. Each neighborhood consists entirely of houses built for Habitat homeowners in safe, beautiful areas.
Students found the tangible results of their labor fulfilling. Reflecting on the transformative nature of building homes in these Habitat communities, Dunne Hall sophomore Griffin Milligan told the Rover, “Seeing other completed Habitat homes already with families in them made the experience of building new homes super special because you could see the tangible impact we were making.”
Beyond the rewarding nature of their work, the students also had the opportunity to develop relationships, both with each other and all of the people involved with Asheville Habitat.
Reflecting on the relationships formed on the trip, Notre Dame Habitat for Humanity Club Co-President Jake Struby, a Junior in Sorin Hall, told the Rover, “Getting to know a great group of people who would give up so much of their time to serve others was amazing. We went on this trip to help rebuild Asheville after Hurricane Helene, and throughout the week, we encountered so many self-giving volunteers and hard-working future homeowners.”
The students met with the leadership of Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, who provided an overview of the group’s mission and operations. Construction Services Volunteer Coordinator Stephanie Wallace described Habitat’s unique model, underscoring how Habitat provides low-cost housing for people in the 40th through 80th percentiles of the income distribution. Wallace described how Habitat fulfills a need for those who, while they may be able to afford necessities such as food and clothing, cannot afford a place to live.
Beyond meeting with Asheville Habitat staff, the club had dinner with Jen, one of the future homeowners whose house they had worked on earlier in the week.
Jen’s story left a powerful impression on the students, including Struby: “What was striking to me was her story of repeated failures to find affordable housing in Asheville and her struggle to find a place of her own. She told us that in her life she had never felt as if there were space for her, and that through Habitat, she was finally able to find it.”
Connecting the power of Jen’s story to the work the students engaged in, Struby commented, “What is so meaningful to me is that our group was able to help build the reality [of a place to live] for Jen.”
Indeed, the opportunity to engage in service and provide tangible help to those in need left a profound impact on students. Second-year architecture graduate student Rose McNiff told the Rover, “Working with Habitat for Humanity has been a transformative experience. I hope we can take this humbling experience into our future lives and remember the importance of giving back and showing up.”
Echoing McNiff’s sentiments, Notre Dame Habitat Club faculty advisor Shauna Williams, Professor of Romance Languages, reflected on how the work Habitat for Humanity demonstrates Notre Dame’s emphasis on service. Williams told the Rover, “[Similar to Notre Dame’s mission], Habitat for Humanity strives to ‘build homes, communities, and hope by bringing people together to create and preserve affordable housing.’”
Williams also commented on the trip as a whole and its connection to Notre Dame’s commitment to the Catholic ideals of solidarity and the common good: “This service trip embodied those ideals—it was a living expression of people coming together to build hope. The week revealed the profound beauty of a community united in service to others.”
For more information about the Notre Dame Habitat for Humanity Club’s upcoming activities, contact Jake Struby at jstruby@nd.edu or Billy Bonnist at wbonnist@nd.edu.
Eric Gordy is a senior studying political science, economics, and constitutional studies. He would encourage anyone reading this article to, unlike him, not wait until their senior year to get involved with the Notre Dame Habitat for Humanity Club. For inquiries about why, he can be reached at egordy@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: Irish Rover
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