The stories that I hear are of people who took a wrong turn in life. But they still have to live somewhere. We have all taken wrong turns, but some of us didn't get back to the main road before we had children. Families have self-esteem, just like individuals. A family that lives under the shadow of charity, a state-dole, public housing, rental housing, or shabby conditions, is unlikely to become a participating unit of citizens in a community. If a family owns its own house there is a sense of solidarity, belonging, and personal autonomy. People who don't own a house don't care about the race for tax-assessor, for instance. They don't care about issues that emanate from a tax-base, like schools, roads and libraries. In short, non-ownership encourages apathy, and teases one's sense for survival into applying for government freebies. While this project addresses one family at a time, if we multiply the number of communities in America by one, then we have hundreds of thousands of families being launched, one at a time.

If you would like to sponsor a family's house, there are a number of ways you can do it, at whatever level you choose. Whatever the magnitude of your help, you can expect the following:

• An invitation to the open house when it is complete.
• An invitation to dinner with the family you helped sponsor.
• A thank you note from the family, with pictures.
• A small plaque with your name located somewhere on the house.
• A good night's rest.

• Pick a family from a list, and fund the entire project.
• Fund the land procurement, the appraised value of which is passed on to the family who purchases the house.
• Fund the down payment, and arrange the financing with a lending institution, with whatever protection clauses you require.
• Fund the closing costs when the transaction actually occurs.
• Fund one or more new appliances for a house - washer, dryer, stove, refrigerator, furnace/air conditioner, ceiling fans. I know of supportive local suppliers who are willing to give you a deal.
• Fund one or more activities that must be done by a licensed vendor - electrical, plumbing, or mechanical.While most of the materials in each house are from free, salvage, and recycled materials, some materials and services must be bought at retail price. Fund one or more of these items: soil test, survey, concrete, fasteners, glue, paint (when needed), wire or pipe.
• You can pick a part of the house, and fund all expenses related to that part of the roof, the foundation, the kitchen, or the laundry.
• Fund a bag of groceries, a gift certificate at a local clothing store, six months' of gasoline, or six months' of one or more utilities.
• Fund a doorknob.

Whatever you do will be appreciated, and will qualify you to receive some gratitude. Good luck with your conscience.