Fifteen students wielded hammers, learned to use electric saws and scaled a roof at a Habitat for Humanitu site where two of a projected seven homes are under construction.

But despite the excitement of learning new skills, what struck many of us here in Athens, Georgia, was the revelation that nearly 100 percent of the children in three elementary elementary schools here receive free breakfast and lunch under the federal program based on income. However, Athens Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Spencer Frye told us that the kids were in rough shape when they got to school on Monday mornings, until someone figured out that their families couldn’t afford to feed them on the weekends. Now food is sent home with them on Fridays. One only wonders what the summers are like!

Despite the presence of the University of Georgia, with its beautiful campus and surrounding neighborhoods, this area is the poorest of any county he nation with a population of 100,000 or more. 

Habitat fot Humanity in Athens is not only providing housing for the poor, but by strategically placing the new homes and renovated apartments in high-crime areas, it is proving the “Broken Windows” effect works, as also shown through Professor Brenda Bonds’ research. In the three areas where Habityat has built or is building, crime has plummeted.

–Nancy K