``SHE IS AFRAID OF MONSTERS COMING THROUGH THE GAPING HOLE IN THE ROOF. . . .''; HABITAT TO GIVE FAMILIES, VOLUNTEERS A NEW VIEW.

Byline: Dennis McCarthy 

``Sally lives with her parents and three siblings in a 400-square-foot converted garage. Her meals are eaten sitting cross-legged on the floor because there is no kitchen table.

``She has learned to stuff towels around the bathtub to keeping the leaking water from spreading, and at night, she tries hard to keep warm in the unheated garage by sleeping side-by-side with her other three siblings, but often even their body heat is not enough.

``She is afraid of monsters coming through the gaping hole in the roof where the ceiling fell from leaking rainwater.

``Sally is 7 years old.''

Helena Delu clicks off the computer in her office after writing these words and stares down at the front page of the Daily News.

The executive director of Habitat for Humanity of San Fernando/Santa Clarita Valleys feels like crying, but she is too numb to do anything but shake her head as she reads the headline.

An early morning blaze in an illegally converted garage in Sun Valley has taken the lives of two young children and their grandmother. They never stood a chance. One of the children was 3, the other 7.

That easily could have been Sally, Delu knows - could have been any one of the dozen children living with their families in converted garages right now - waiting patiently for the dream Delu has promised will materialize over on Willis Avenue in Panorama City.

A real house with a kitchen table and a bathtub that doesn't leak. A house with heating.

A house where there are no holes in the roof for monsters to crawl through to turn the peaceful dreams of children into nightmares.

The land sits empty, a depository for junk, trash and druggies - eyesores in a Panorama City neighborhood fed up with eyesores.

The lots already have been purchased by the valley chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and in the coming months nine homes will be built here in the shadow of the Panorama Mall.

Nine families living below the poverty line have already been chosen to move in when the homes are completed. Four of the nine families now live in converted garages. Sally's family is one of them.

They, along with the other families, will put in 500 hours of work themselves helping build all these homes with Habitat volunteers. They will be given the keys to one, and a zero interest loan to repay the $90,000 price tag.

With insurance and taxes added on to the principal payment, their monthly mortgage will come in right around $500 - just a little more than a family of six is paying in rent for a one-bedroom apartment or converted garage right now.

The land has been purchased, the families have been chosen. Everything is ready for the final stage - the Blitz Build.

Two homes in two weeks on Willis Avenue. A short break, then two more. Regroup in November for the final five. By Christmas, all nine families should be neighbors.

Yeah, everything is on schedule and ready to make the dreams of a few dozen Sallys out there come true.

Now all Helena Delu needs is for us to come through.

``It's very difficult for people like me and many of you to cross that bridge between people like us who have so much and those who don't. Habitat for Humanity builds that bridge.''

These words were spoken a few years ago in South Central L.A. by a man who used to run this country. Jimmy Carter. He had a hammer and nails in his hand when he said them.

Sometime during the year, you'll find Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, somewhere in this country - this world - helping build a home for people on the other side of the bridge.

Most of the people who get involved, like the Carters, aren't construction professionals - carpenters, electricians or experts in any of the trades.

They're just people who want to help and see what it's like to build a house from the ground up.

The funny thing is, Delu says, often it's the people on this side of that bridge Carter's talking about who walk away feeling like they've gotten a heck of a lot more out of the project than they gave.

A little time. A little sweat, and a few sore thumbs and backs.

Nothing compared to seeing some kids who sleep side-by-side with their siblings for body heat walk into a real home, she says.

Walk into a bedroom where there are no holes in the roof for monsters to crawl through to turn the peaceful dreams of children into nightmares.

The Build Blitz is set to begin June 28, and Habitat could certainly use a little extra help. For more information, call Nikki Maxwell, volunteer coordinator for Habitat for Humanity at [phone].