with the help of veterans, pictured here, young adults, churches and corporate support, will
continue his mission as head of the Fuller Center for Housing
Good Work Building Affordable Housing Continues
By Dan Murphy
For most of us in Westchester, when you say Habitat for Humanity, two names come to mind. First is Jim Killoran, the dedicated and energetic head of Habitat for Humanity in Westchester. The second name might be former President Jimmy Carter, who most of us associate Habitat with and believe was the founder of the organization.
Until now. While Carter was an important volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and helped put the organization on the map, Millard Fuller was and is the founder of Habitat for Humanity. Fuller and his wife, Linda, gave up their wealth and began building simple, decent housing for low-income families on a Christian farm in Georgia in the 1970s. In 1984, Carter, gave his name and reputation to Habitat, and began to help build homes all over the world.
In 2005, the Fuller Center for Housing was founded, to continue the vision of Millard and Linda Fuller to provide home ownership to all Americans as a new non-profit housing organization. Fuller, who was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, died in 2009, but his legacy as the leader of the modern-day movement for affordable housing lives on and now shines bright in Westchester under Jim Killoran, now the executive director of The Fuller Center for Housing of Greater New York City.
“Thirty years ago, in Westchester, the mission started to eliminate poverty housing in one of the worst counties in the country to build affordable homes,” said Killoran, who announced the change on a video online at fullercenterny.org. “We went from Yorktown to Yonkers building and repairing homes for families in need, for seniors living in their car, for people with no running water still living in the houses they grew up in. Those 30 years have ended and for the next 30 years we move ahead as the Fuller Center for Housing, to honor the legacy of Millard and Linda Fuller the founders of Habitat for Humanity and the founders and namesakes of the Fuller Center for Housing.
“Aug. 17, 2018 is a historic day for us in Westchester and NYC because now we will be able to build more houses in more communities and help the legacy of Millard and Linda, with the main mission staying the same – to eliminate poverty housing in your community. Thirty years ago, they said, ‘Jim, you are crazy to believe that you can build affordable homes in Bedford or Pound Ridge.’ But we have done it, and it’s needed now more than ever because we are in an affordable housing crisis like never before.”
The same theory of home ownership that Killoran has brought to Westchester with Habitat remains with the Fuller Center for Housing and was the core belief of Millard Fuller to create affordable home ownership. Houses are built with the help of volunteers and corporate and construction donations of money, resources and labor. The new owners are given a helping hand and not a hand out and must pay an interest-free mortgage on the home and put “sweat equity” into their new home.
Why did Killoran make the change from Habitat to the Fuller Center for Housing? “I’m returning to my roots and the two people who started it all, Linda and Millard Fuller. This continues to allow me to continue the same mission, with the same values and build more homes, just with a different name,” said Killoran, who worked with and was friends with both Millard and Linda Fuller for decades.
Perhaps it was time for a new name, and a new challenge for Killoran. But for the thousands of people whose lives he has touched over 30 years of building homes for people who need it most, the name of the organization on the sign, or the T-shirt, doesn’t really matter.
What matters is the good work, God’s work, that Killoran does that people of all ages, religions and walks of life want to be a part of. That diverse group includes thousands of young people, high school and college students and young volunteers from Americares and the Mormon Church, who spend time building a garden, or painting a wall, or building a new home.
Most of these volunteers love the experience and never forget the lessons learned that last a lifetime. “I’ve been blessed with all of these helpers, and our success has been not our brand, but our advocacy of changing neighborhoods and building,” said Killoran. “Every young person in Westchester needs to learn to build again and get off the phone and stop texting and get dirty. We are dying on our cell phones. This past summer, our builder’s camp included 100 teens and we have interacted with thousands of young adults over the years, from all areas of Westchester, including wealthier communities. Our kids learn about energy efficiency and learn about how to build or rebuild and give back.”
Veterans are another group of Americans and Westchester residents that Killoran has always tried to help. “On Sept. 11, we are painting a Vietnam veterans’ home in Millwood. We believe that every veteran should come home from service and have a home. That’s what America should be all about, but instead we have too many vets in our homeless shelters, and the taxpayers are sometimes paying $4,000 per month to keep them in a shelter. Let’s build them a home instead.”
Recently, Killoran has two homeless veterans to build for Habitat and now for the Fuller Center for Housing. “All it takes is a little help,” he said. “No veteran should be homeless. One vet we hired has now moved onto a good job and another vet helps lead our volunteers. God brings the opportunity to them and we are their family.”
Killoran has welcomed cadets from West Point to help build and rebuild in Westchester for 25 years, and will welcome them again next week. “Of course, they are good workers and they show up every year,” he said. “What an honor to have them – these are the things that I’ve been blessed to have for 30 years.”
One place you can find Killoran if he isn’t building or rebuilding is at his store on 659 Main Street in New Rochelle. The store is now called to Re-Use Fuller Store at the same location. The store has generated more than $300,000 in sales tax revenue for New Rochelle and helped provide free used furniture for more than 600 families, who were evicted or victims of a fire and were left with nothing.
Because Killoran is now head of the Fuller Center for Housing for NYC, he can branch out to serve and help those outside of Westchester. Unofficially, Killoran has always helped wherever it’s needed, regardless of location, including helping Hurricane Sandy victims in the Rockaways.
“I have thousands of volunteers we can deploy and there’s a lot of stories you don’t know,” he said. “We help where it’s needed because we can’t accept a homeless person on the streets or seniors dying in their homes without heat. We live in the highest-taxed county in the nation, and the richest area in the country. This is a ministry of love for action to help people have a home of their own. We welcome all faiths, and whenever a wall goes up, we continue to get stronger in Westchester. Please donate today to help our mission of helping after disasters, to rebuilding neighborhoods, and together with thousands of volunteers, our mission continues.
“If we don’t end housing poverty in our generation – then we fail. If our kids can’t live in this county, where are we? That’s what God wanted me to do, and even in a good economy, the need for housing is more than ever. Home ownership, not luxury rentals, has always been the foundation of our greatness.”
Killoran is re-energized by joining the Fuller Center for Housing. “This is a Clarion call to get back to basics,” he said. “I have 15,000 unpaid staff, and we feel so reenergized about this. It’s an honor to get the name of the Fullers out there and get their legacy out there. And I want all of our readers is to be a part of the solution. Our mission is simple: Everyone should go to bed at night in a good and decent home.”
Upcoming events for the Fuller Center for Housing include a golf outing at Wykagyl Country Club in New Rochelle on Oct. 2, a Chilly Hill 5K Walk in Yonkers on Oct. 13, and a Nov. 4 Walk for Homes in Larchmont.
You can also make a donation, or sign up to volunteer, by visiting fullercenter.org/greater-new-york-city/
For 30 years, Jim Killoran helped Westchester families stay in their homes, and build a home for someone who would never be able to afford it in this county. He did it through Habitat for Humanity; now he does it with the Fuller Center for Housing. And the beat goes on, and the need is more than ever for Killoran to continue. Where you
