Volunteer effort puts family in latest Habitat home

November 12, 2006

By Michael Rovito

Frontiersman

MEADOW LAKES - His beaming smile said it all.

In a new blue house on a quiet street off Pittman Drive, James Compton, along with his wife, Desiree, and scores of Habitat for Humanity volunteers, eagerly showed off their new home Saturday, which they will officially move into in the next few days. The project is the culmination of total strangers coming together to construct a place in which the Comptons will not only hang their hats, but raise their three small children under a warm roof.

&#8220Words can't describe it,” James Compton, an Alaska Psychiatric Institute employee, said, that smile growing larger each time he looked around his new house. &#8220I feel very blessed.”

The Comptons are the latest recipients of a Habitat for Humanity home. The nonprofit organization says it is committed to fighting inadequate housing and homelessness around the world.

For the Comptons, the organization gave them a chance to move from their cramped Palmer apartment to a house better suited for them and their three kids, Tristian, Angel and Grace - who were busy Saturday scurrying about the house and hiding in closets, perhaps a preview of the hide-and-seek games to come.

The Compton story is unique. James, a native of Colombia, spent many years of his life living on the streets in that country. Adopted in 1989, he came to America and eventually met Desiree at a Valley Burger King.

&#8220People always say ‘don't work in fast food,' but I met the love of my life there,” said Desiree Compton, who will soon be attending Alaska Pacific University to work on her master's degree in counseling psychology.

Beyond building the actual house, Habitat for Humanity also provides more easily affordable loans, many of which carry no interest. But those benefiting from the organization aren't allowed to sit back and relax during construction. A payment of &#8220sweat equity,” as Habitat for Humanity calls it, had Compton putting 500 volunteer hours into the construction of his house, right alongside other volunteers.

Volunteers like Roy Foster, a longtime Valley resident with a construction background, said the opportunity to help someone move into a home such as the Comptons' is an invaluable experience.

&#8220I feel really good about it,” Foster said. &#8220It's a sense of fulfillment to know I helped the Valley develop.”

Both men, Compton and Foster, agreed that what began as a total stranger relationship - one of volunteer to beneficiary - has now turned into a friendship.

Spoken words wouldn't do justice to the gratitude Desiree Compton is feeling, she said, adding that she would need a card to express that. And that's exactly what everyone who helped got - a simple card with a picture of the Compton family and the message &#8220Thank you for helping us build our American Dream.”

Next up for the Comptons is some landscaping and a fence around the back yard in preparation for the family's new dog. Habitat for Humanity will still be in their lives, with James vowing to become a volunteer himself after witnessing what total strangers can do for others.

As laughter filled the Compton house Saturday and warm cookies were passed around, James Compton was busy rounding up the kids for a family photo outside. The paint is barely dry on the walls, but his house is already a home, the work of other Valley residents willing to give their time and energy.

&#8220I'm thanking the Lord for Habitat for Humanity volunteers,” Compton said.

Contact Michael Rovito at 352-2252 or michael.rovito@frontiersman.com.