ELY—Josie Klinzing has been looking for a place in the area to call her own since 2022. On Sunday, with help from Habitat for Humanity, she took a major step toward achieving that goal for herself and her son, with the kickoff of construction on a new home at 25 N. 3rd Ave. W.
“You just gotta do it,” Klinzing said about the construction process. “I can totally handle that.”
Habitat for Humanity is an ecumenical Christian housing ministry that connects families in need of affordable housing with volunteers who help build or improve homes. As described by its founder Millard Fuller, it practices the “theology of the hammer.”
The kickoff event was hosted by Nathan Thompson, the executive director of Northern St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity, and was attended by several members of the Ely community, including Ely Mayor Heidi Omerza, who “lives around the block,” and Angela Campbell, who sits on the Northern St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity board.
Thompson said he was excited to be working in the Ely community again.
“Ely is Habitat, Habitat is Ely,” Thompson said. “It is neighbors helping neighbors.”
The house is one of five that Habitat is currently building across northern St. Louis County.
Habitat is currently looking for volunteers for the project, which it hopes to complete this spring. For the next two weeks, Habitat will receive assistance through its Care-A-Vanners program and only has capacity for three extra volunteers a day. After two weeks, it will be looking for more daily volunteers.
Those interested in volunteering can fill out the volunteer form on the Northern St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity website or reach out to Tucker Nelson, the community resources manager for the branch. Nelson can be reached at tucker@nslchfh.org or by calling 218-780-4594.
“There’s a way that anyone can get involved,” Nelson said, explaining that whether it’s bringing lunch for volunteers or wielding a hammer, Habitat provides a way to help your community and develop hands-on skills that can be applied beyond the new construction site.