Habitat for Humanity is partnering with UL Lafayette graduate students to build its first container home in the Mccomb Veazay neighborhood. 

Habitat for Humanity is partnering with UL Lafayette graduate students to build its first container home in the Mccomb Veazay neighborhood. 

The 1020 container home is a new project for Habitat for Humanity that will provide smaller home options for elders or single-living households. It’s energy efficient and will require little maintenance. 

Dionne Mayfield is a local musician who’s legally blind and lives alone. He said getting from Point A to Point B is difficult at times. Over the past year, he’s been searching for a stable home. 

He heard about Habitat for Humanity and applied for their program. 

Habitat for Humanity and the Building Institute at UL Lafayette are building the 1020 home on 300 14th Street. It’s just a block away from the church Mayfield ministers music at. 

Mayfield called it serendipity. “To own a home is the American dream. Everybody wants to own a home one day. So, to go from being a renter to a homeowner in the process of six months is amazing. It’s truly a blessing from God and I’m so grateful,” he added. 

The home will feature a smart hub that will allow Mayfield to operate lights, appliances, the thermostat and more from a wristband. Architecture graduate students at UL have worked on this project for the past few months.

“You get hands-on experience and it’s just helping a good cause. Mr. Dionne, he’s going to be able to get a nice house out of this. The first one too,” said Jairus Vinnett. 

Katie Murphy is also a graduate student participating in the project. 

 “So, we actually had to learn how to weld into the container and how does the container meet wood. So, we’ve been learning that and that the things that we haven’t learned in school yet,” said Murphy. So, this has been a really great experience for us,” she added. 

The project’s expected completion date is December 2018.