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Every local Habitat for Humanity organization is different. Most are set up for local people to get together on a week-ends and finish a house over eight weeks with a fairly steady crew.
New Orleans was set up to take anyone that showed up on any given day so that they tell the folks back home what the city was dealing with. Biloxi dealt with college and church groups coming down for a week and doing it that way.
Port Arthur or more accurately, Beaumont had elements of all three. We had local people, mostly Habitat participants. We had college groups coming down during their vacation time. And in one of those only-in-Texas touches, we had inmates from a local prison. This occasionally worried the parents of the college kids but generally went off without a hitch. Forgive some of the rough manners and these guys had skills.
The glory and the downfall of the whole thing was the local full-time people. Mr Robert was a joy to work with. A Texas Cajun who had retired from his home interiors business he had a wonderful way of letting people know what needed to be done in a way that was clear but appreciative and fun.
The other full-timers tended to quarrel with each other and run to Mr Robert to adjudicate things. The folks in the office didn't seem terribly motivated and the people on the job sites chafed at the lack of logistical support. Still, houses got built. Volunteers had an opportunity to participate and appreciate and in its own halting way, it worked.