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Bealeton Shelter Gets Makeover
Bealeton Shelter Gets MakeoverBy Bill Walsh
Times-Democrat Staff Writer
Thanks to a Northern Virginia builder and about 25 subcontractors with which it does business, Victory Transitional Housing near Bealeton is now providing a safer environment for its residents, one that is significantly enhanced by fresh landscaping, and one that is probably healthier, with lurking, potential mold problems taken out of the equation.
Last Friday, about 100 enthusiastic employees of Miller & Smith, a homebuilder headquarter in McLean, arrived at the site for the final day of a "mini extreme makeover" of the facility, the adjacent food pantry and thrift store. Grading and some of the other work that required heavy equipment had been ongoing for two weeks, and was wrapping up as the Miller & Smith workers arrived.
The project was organized and directed by HomeAid, the charitable arm of the National Association of Home Builders.
"HomeAid is an organization that primarily focuses on the homeless and people in need, with projects such as this where they will come...and ask for their builder partners to get involved, to donate time and materials, and to also get their subcontractors to do the same," explained Miller & Smith Marketing Vice President Lauri Payson.
"These are all our people landscaping," she said in front of the transitional home on Friday, "but our landscape contractor donated the plants."
The landscaping is front and center, but most of the work and by far the most important work on Victory Transition Housing is hidden from view.
"We have some water issues under our building causing some problems," said Tyrone Champion, pastor of True Deliverance Church and director of Community Touch, which runs the shelter, "and the roof was leaking at the Ark [thrift store].
"HomeAid came out and looked at the project, and Miller & Smith came out and looked at it, talked with us about what we needed, and all of a sudden they just showed up like ants," Champion said with a laugh. "This week has been really awesome."
See the April 29 Times-Democrat for the complete story.
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