INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Indian River Habitat for Humanity (IRHFH) has announced that it has been selected as one of only 163 affiliates nationwide to participate in the initial phase of Habitat for Humanity International’s Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI), a program that focuses on improving housing conditions while partnering with other community organizations to provide services that enhance the overall quality of life in struggling neighborhoods.
The first of two NRI families is Pastor Anthony and Gloria Tory. Tory was pastor of Community Missionary Baptist Church until illness forced him to step down. Pastor Tory and his wife, Gloria, have taken care of their granddaughters Tekoya and Teleria Tory since 1999 when their father’s died at age 32. Pastor Tory is now confined to a walker and a wheelchair, and the necessary repairs to their home had become a challenge the couple could not meet alone.
With help from First Baptist Church of Vero Beach, the Tory’s found they qualified for Indian River Habitat for Humanity’s NRI program. Throughout the summer, a crew from Habitat has worked to widen the doorways in the Tory home, allowing wheelchair access. They are also building an outside wheelchair access ramp.
The second NRI recipient is Dallas Yates. In the late 1970’s, Dallas Yates became the first black deputy sheriff in Indian River County. The popular law enforcement officer is now retired and living in Gifford.
This past July, a fire so severely damaged his kitchen and other parts of his home that he was forced to move out until it can be repaired. His neighbors Freddie Woolfork, a director of the Gifford Youth Activities Center, and Sheriff’s Deputy Teddy Floyd, who have both served on the Habitat Board of Directors, put Yates in touch with IRHFH.
With the help of his neighbors, the extensive clean-up and repair work is being completed through the NRI program. Clean-up was accomplished by Brew With the Brothers, a group from St. Peter’s Missionary Baptist Church in Gifford, who meet together for coffee before church. The group strives to “pay it forward” through various community projects. The repair work is being done by a construction team from IRHFH.
Habitat for Humanity is seeking the public’s help through churches, civic groups and individuals, to help us identify other families that can benefit from this new initiative.
Call Lindsey Goodall at 772-562-9860 ext. 211 for more information.