Powhatan Habitat for Humanity’s Women’s Build

This year Powhatan Habitat for Humanity is hitting a lot of first’s and Karnage Construction is proud to be a part of it. Powhatan HFH is doing it’s first Women’s Build Project, which also happens to be it’s first home renovation build and the first time they have had High School kids out volunteering on the builds.

Karnage Construction is a sponsor of the event, and also I (Mo) am spending every other Friday, Saturday and Sunday on the jobsite as the supervisor.

But wait, Women’s Build??? I thought you were genderqueer / nonbinary Mo.

Correct, I do NOT identify as a woman, but I have played the part on TV. *queue canned laughter*

This is not my first time leading a Women’s Build project- I did this for Fauquier County Habitat a few years ago and sometimes did when I worked at Richmond Habitat for Humanity.

I would not take these roles as my first choice, but I do it because there are so few women or nonbinary or trans folks in construction that a generic brand knock off like me is better than only having visible Cis dudes running the show.

While working on this Habitat project is eating up my non existent free time, it is something that nourishes me in other ways, namely connecting with people in the community and doing what I can to support efforts towards affordable housing.

Powhatan, like most areas in central Virginia, has been experiencing sky rocketing housing costs. Powhatan is also a mainly rural county, like where I grew up in Hanover. Rural areas needs for affordable housing are complicated to meet, as often the first solution folks go towards results in a loss of the rural character. Finding ways to create affordable housing in rural counties is not easy, but it is important. I don’t want farmland and forests turned into subdivisions and apartments, but I also want lower income folks to have ready access to housing. It is way more complicated than spending a day volunteering on a Habitat jobsite - I encourage you to consider volunteering at a local affordable housing group near you.