Lucy's trading places: a chippy off a new block

Lucy Minter discovered she loved carpentry after she missed the start of the university year while travelling in South America

AFTER missing the start of semester to study architecture, Lucy Minter, 23, looked for an alternative course while waiting to start her degree.

She opted for carpentry and discovered she loved it.

A student at the TAFE North Sydney Institute, she is now six months off finishing her apprenticeship.

But she said getting a start had been tough and involved more than 50 emails, and 20 phone calls.

``Taking on a first year girl (apprentice) was a big risk because they have never done it before, they don't know what is involved,'' she said. ``They don't know if women are physically capable and there is a stigma around women not being able to build, so there was a lot to get around as a first year,'' she said.

Joining the National Association of Women in Construction helped Ms Minter secure her current job.

She is employed at a company called Just Screw It in Leichhardt where there is another qualified female carpenter who offered her some sage advice.

``She says don't worry about trying to be a man, you don't have to be a man to work in this industry. Be a woman and do a good job,'' Ms Minter said.

CARPENTERS
*Average weekly full time earnings: $900
*Average weekly hours: 40
*10 year employment growth: 36.6 per cent
*Females in industry working full time: 0.2 per cent
*Males in industry working full time: 93.6 per cent
*For other women thinking about going into the construction trade, Ms Minter said: "Just get in there, don't take no for answer, go to sites and hand out your resume."
*Ms Minter's qualification allows her to travel and give back to the community. She has been to France and spent six months in Brazil

Retrieved from" http://north-shore-times.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/lucys-trading-places-a-chippy-off-a-new-block/

The power of women

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Habitat for Humanity's 'Women Build' program seeks female volunteers for single mom's home

January 13, 2012Photo 1 of 1  |  Zoom Photo +

Teah Laurine and her children, William Austin, 11 months, and Julian Laurine, 6, are getting a Habitat for Humanity house that Laurine will help build in southeast Medford.

By Sanne Specht

Mail Tribune

Teah Laurine dreams about sleeping through the night without worrying a bullet might come ripping through the walls of her family's rental home.

"That's the hardest thing, living in fear," says the 33-year-old Medford mother of three. "There are a lot of gunshots in our neighborhood."

WATCH PROGRAM

Those interested in learning more about Women Accepting the Challenge of Housing can attend an informational brown-bag lunch meeting set for noon Wednesday, Jan. 25, at the Medford library, 205 S. Central Ave., call the Habitat for Humanity office at 541-779-1983 or email habitatvc@roguevalleyhabitat.org.

Laurine's dream of a safe place to live is within grasp — if enough local women step up to help, says Cathy Nicholson, board member and project organizer for Rogue Valley Habitat for Humanity.

Nicholson is seeking 30 women who will commit to raising $1,000 each for the construction funding of a new home for Laurine and her children. She also is seeking women "in the trades" to perform the construction phase of the project, Nicholson said.

Laurine's home is the fourth of six to be built off Orchard Hill Drive in southeast Medford.

"We want to reach out to women in the trades," Nicholson said. "We don't want to appear sexist, but the primary goal is to build this home with all women."

From fundraising to construction, Nicholson said the project is a part of Habitat's "Women Build" program that enables women to eliminate poverty housing by joining women volunteers with would-be women homeowners.

Laurine, a coordinator at Abdill Career College for the past six years, applied, qualified and was selected for a Habitat home, said Nicholson.

"The person has to be gainfully employed," Nicholson said. "They do end up with a mortgage, and they have to be able to pay it back. This is not a giveaway program."

Besides covering the construction costs, which are estimated to be about $80,000 based on a variety of in-kind and cash donations, Laurine must also invest 500 hours of "sweat equity," Nicholson said.

Sweat equity is an affordable price to pay for peace of mind for herself and her children, Laurine said.

"I think it's amazing," Laurine said. "I'm so happy I can't even see straight."

It has been a long road to stability, Laurine said. She lived in her car while she finished college, while her now 16-year-old daughter lived with other family members. After she completed her schooling, Laurine found her "first real job," and her daughter joined her in an apartment. But she was unable to make ends meet and ended up living with friends while discovering she was pregnant with her second child. The family moved again when her now 6-year-old son was a year old. She also has an 11-month-old baby boy, William.

"In the last five years we have moved three more times, and we added another son to our family," Laurine said. "We are bursting at the seams in a place that cannot hold us."

Laurine said her children's fathers do provide some support and assistance. And the kids never complain about their turbulent life, she said. But they all need a safe, peaceful neighborhood, and Laurine is looking forward to moving her children into a stable home of their own, she said.

"My son spent 48 hours (after hearing they'd been accepted for a Habitat home) figuring out how he's going to decorate his room," Laurine said.

Each year, Habitat for Humanity participates in a women-built home project as part of the national organization's Women Accepting the Challenge of Housing project. Since 1991, about 1,900 homes have been built.

Nicholson, a retired vocational teacher, said she has been surprised to realize how many Rogue Valley females are in the construction trades.

"There are 150 licensed women electricians in this valley," she said, adding she was also aware of a female shop teacher at North Medford High School.

Local women who join the WATCH circle will serve as vehicles to spread the word about the project, help secure funding for Laurine's home, and some will help build it, Nicholson said.

"This is the first time we're taking on a whole house," Nicholson said. "It's about women achieving, and taking on the challenge of housing. So far 15 women have accepted and stepped up."

Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 541-776-4497 or e-mail sspecht@mailtribune.com.