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April = 23,=20 2007
Section:=20 PAGE 1
Page:=20 1

Volunteers=20 help to revitalize shelter,=20 homes
SUNITA VIJAYAN =

By SUNITA=20 VIJAYAN

The Salinas Californian

MARINA - Homeless men will be homeless no more once = 14=20 disused apartment units on the former Fort Ord are renovated = - and=20 Saturday saw a big push to help that day come = soon.

As part of Rebuilding Together's annual = "Rehabilitation=20 Blitz," the Monterey-Salinas chapter rounded up about 100=20 volunteers to work on the Fort Ord project = alone.

Other crews helped spruce up 14 private homes = around=20 Monterey County owned by people who lack the means to = pay for=20 repairs.

Rebuilding Together is a national organization = dedicated=20 to revitalizing homes and communities.

For the entire day, volunteers from various=20 organizations, including Monterey-based Shoreline Church and = the=20 Junior League of Monterey County, pitched in to clean = up a=20 deteriorating apartment complex on the 2400 block of = Lexington=20 Court. Formerly used by the Army, it's now owned by = Marina-based=20 Shelter Outreach Plus' Interfaith Homeless Emergency = Lodging=20 Program.

The apartments will be used as transitional housing = for=20 homeless single men when their renovation is complete. The=20 rehabilitation project is expected to cost about = $1.25=20 million, said Ronn F. Rygg, Shelter Outreach Plus' = executive=20 director.

Because the units have been unoccupied for the past = 14 years,=20 they are moldy and decayed and have been the target of = vandalism,=20 Rygg said.

Saturday's volunteer push went a long way = toward=20 making the units livable once again, he said.

"It's very significant, because for years and years, = this=20 place has languished," Rygg said. "Now, there's a very clear = indication that we're here to get the job done and=20 help those that need help."

For at least eight hours, the volunteers - = through=20 much teamwork - cleared away shrubbery, bulldozed trees, = picked up=20 garbage and removed old appliances for recycling.

Mark Sears of the Monterey-Salinas affiliate of = Rebuilding=20 Together said he was pleased to have some many = helping hands.

"The more work we can do to help people = get=20 into these houses as fast as they can, the better it is for = us,"=20 Sears said. "We've been doing (projects like) this for 11 = years so a=20 lot of (volunteers) sign up year after year."

Nikki Rossi of Salinas, one of 20 volunteers = from the=20 Junior League of Monterey County, said she's been = participating in=20 Rebuilding Together's various activities for the past five = years.

"It's just fun to get involved with the = community and=20 the different projects they do," she said. "It's a very = hands-on=20 organization that does a lot of good."

Contact Sunita Vijayan at = svijayan@thecalifornian.com.

TO GET INVOLVED

For more information on participating in the = Monterey-Salinas=20 affiliate of Rebuilding Together, call 644-0473 or visit=20 www.rebuildingtogether-ms.org.

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