Alternative Winter Break 2007 - Lanett, Alabama In early December, 11 SBC volunteers traveled to the small community of Lannett, Alabama. Lanett is a town burdened with many economic woes. According to the local population, Lanett used to be a peaceful and successful southern community. However, in recent decades the textile industry, formerly fueled by local cotton farms, has suffered a severe decline in Lanett and many other small Alabama towns. The abrupt economic downturn has left many Lanett residents with little to no option for employment. There are essentially no major industries in the area to support the town’s substantial population. As a result, many have turned to government housing as a means of survival. The local government is over burdened with the responsibility of providing for the poverty stricken residents of the town. Consequently, other government programs, such as education, suffer due to the lack of adequate funding. To make matters worse, Lanett has become known for generational reliance on the government for a means of survival. Several locals explained to our group that families living in the projects rarely ever gain the economic stability to move out and into a home or apartment of their own. As a result, a reliance on government housing is established and passed on from generation to generation. Organizations such as The Fuller Center for Housing have recognized the inherent flaw in the system and continually work to rectify the situation. However, The Fuller Center’s efforts are not unilateral. The organization has pulled local government agencies and businesses into the effort making the revitalization a community effort instead of just another non-profit struggling against the advancing tide of poverty. As volunteers, we were given the opportunity to participate in the on going effort to build affordable housing. The Fuller Center has begun an initiative to buy up abandoned properties in Lanett’s suburban neighborhoods. Many of these neighborhoods have become home to drug dealers and the profiteering grounds for slum lords. Before the Fuller Center began its initiative to eliminate sub-standard housing, residents of Lanett’s low-income neighborhoods lived in constant fear of the addicts and drug dealers that stalked their streets looking for easy money. Some of these streets had been abandoned by the local law enforcement agencies and were considered lost causes. The Fuller Center has courageously begun to infiltrate one such blighted neighborhood. Thus far, volunteers have demolished three run down structures and replaced them with three new homes. One site is the former spot of a heavily trafficked crack house and was considered the source of many the neighborhoods drug related problems. Since its demolition, the drug dealers have retreated and law enforcement officers have resumed patrols. This past December, our group volunteered to help in the final stages of two new houses directly across the street from one another. The amount of work we were able to accomplish as a team of volunteers is hardly believable to me. In the course of a week, we hung siding, painted, applied soffit, and finished the interior trim work of both houses. While working on the site, we had the opportunity to meet both homeowners and established relationships with them. Jeanne is a single mother with two children and works at a local Wal-Mart to provide for her family. Jeanne is quick with a joke and a smile. The other homeowner, Charlotte, is an elderly woman that is full of wisdom and kindness. Neither homeowner has ever owned a home before now. Jeanne has spent her entire life in the public housing system. Charlotte has also lived in the Lanett projects but she has also lived on the street, relying on the generosity of others to make ends meet. Our friendships with these two people quickly moved past our respective economic statuses and the awkward tension that often exists between the volunteer and the recipient of the volunteer’s work. Our week was filled with southern hospitality. Each day our meals were provided for by local churches who wanted to show their appreciation for our efforts. The kindness of the community was overwhelming to us. This kindness literally didn’t end until we turned onto the interstate to head home. Charlotte followed our van to the onramp and honked and waived as we drove away. To say that our group went to Alabama to show kindness to those less fortunate is not an inaccurate statement. However, whatever kindness we gave was returned to us and then some from the community, The Fuller Center, and Jeanne and Charlotte. MAIN > TRIPS > PAST > Tampico and Tuxpan SB '06