self-help: Families move in to Self Help homes

Vicki Alvis was daunted when she first saw the empty lot where she was to build a house. Alvis, a single mother of four, is among 10 families who are moving into new homes this month in the Pearson Self Help Neighborhood just off Upper River Road. Each family spent hundreds of hours constructing their homes with help from volunteers. It was hard, daunting work, Alvis said, but crewmembers such as construction supervisor Buck Beaudry gave her confidence and helped her finish the job. “He had a lot to do with feeling like you could do it and get it right. When I first came out, it was a stick in the ground. Then the foundation went up, then the walls, then boom. Look at all of this,” Alvis said, looking around her spacious four-bedroom home. Read more about Alvis and her new neighbors in Friday’s Tribune. Originally published May 4, 2006