Logan group officially joins Fuller Center

Housing group sets goal of cutting city�s poverty rate in half.

by Kevin Lilly

It�s official. The local group of community leaders wanting to reduce the city�s poverty rate by half has become the Logansport chapter of the Fuller Center for Housing.

In under two months, officers for the board have been elected, committees have been formed and an operation plan put in place.

�I have been impressed with the work and thought you and your volunteers have done so far,� wrote Glen Barton of the national The Fuller Center for Housing in a welcoming e-mail. �We are very excited to have Logansport become our third covenant partner in Indiana.�

Boone Sumantri, president of the local group, said their goal is to renovate three houses for low-income families the first year and increase that number to 10 as quickly as possible.

Sumantri, who has high hopes for combating the area�s poverty rate, says some 300 families in Cass County need housing. He hopes that within 10 years that number will be cut in half.

The group has a plan to accomplish that goal. Deputy Mayor Linda Klinck offered her help in supplying the organization with a list of abandoned and condemned homes that could be turned into affordable housing.

Also, in effort to ensure the Fuller Center�s operation is consistent with the plans of the city and county, Planning Director Stan Williams presented the comprehensive plan at the group�s most recent meeting.

After fixed up, the houses will not be simply be given away. The recipients must acquire a skilled trade, such as carpentry, so when the families move into their new homes, they not only have a place to stay but a means for paying bills and maintaining the property.

According to its Web site, Fuller Center for Housing is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry started in 2005 by Millard Fuller and his wife Linda, who co-founded Habitat for Humanity in 1976.

By early this year, the organization had more than 50 covenant partners in 26 states.

The organization is different than Habitat, but the two organizations can compliment each other, Sumantri said. Habitat for Humanity builds new homes where the Fuller Center group intends to renovate abandoned homes throughout the county.

The program would work entirely off donations so recipients would have to be able to pay back the no-interest loan. Payment plans would be arranged based on income.

The center is still seeking volunteers to serve on its various committees, including family selection and partnering, church relations and construction.

Serving as local officers are Sumantri as president, Clark Miller as vice president, Klinck as secretary, Sheila Gilliland as recording secretary, and Jaime Morphet as treasurer.

Other directors are Harold Hopper, Beth Myers, Juan Rodriguez, Carrie Ruel Flores, Kira Saunders, David Sievers and Horace Smith.

Because of the 2010 Group Workcamps bringing about 400 youth from all over the nation to complete projects in Logansport for a week in July, the Fuller Center group plans to assist in preparation for those projects.

� Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at 574-732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com.

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