NO PLACE LIKE HABITAT HOME; ORGANIZATION HELPS FAMILY BUILD DREAM.

Byline: Gloria Gonzales Daily News Staff Writer

The walls are painted, the kitchen is redone and the new heater is installed.

After hundreds of hours of volunteer and family labor, on Sunday, the Samuels will move into Ventura County's 10th Habitat for Humanity home.

``I still feel like I'm walking around in a dream, compared to how things were,'' said 33-year-old Lisa Samuel, who has survived abandonment, unemployment and homelessness and will move with her four children and second husband into the newly remodeled home at 199 Flittner Circle on Sunday.

The simple stucco home, formerly the Fitzgerald Senior Center, was donated by the city to Habitat for Humanity about one year ago. It is the city's second Habitat for Humanity home.

Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating homelessness by remodeling or building homes for the needy. Habitat home buyers need no down payments, but must contribute ``sweat equity'' to a home, and must repay a no-interest loan.

The Samuels paid sweat equity by helping with demolition, hanging drywall, framing added walls and painting.

``You wouldn't recognize the house from the way it was last year,'' said Chris Samuel, Lisa's husband. ``We were happy when we first saw it, before all the work was done; now we're ecstatic.

``I think people will be surprised at the dedication, because we're going to start bringing boxes in right after the ceremony. The kids are really excited - even Jerrod - he's really anxious to see the house.''

More adversity 

Samuel and her children have lived in a two-bedroom apartment in an affordable-housing complex since 1994. Chris joined the family in the already cramped apartment late last year.

Their joy over the coming move has been dampened by a Dec. 5 car crash that put Samuel's second-oldest son, Jerrod, in an intensive care unit for 21 days. Jerrod was a passenger in a light truck that spun out on rain-slick Potrero Road.

The 15-year-old sophomore at Thousand Oaks High School was partially paralyzed, though he has since regained movement in his arms and chest.

The crash came at a time when things were looking up for the family: Lisa and Chris were married in August, both had landed good jobs and after a rigorous selection process they were chosen from 40 applicants for the Habitat home.

And Lisa Samuel thought the most difficult times were behind her - two years of homelessness endured after her first husband abandoned her, leaving her as sole supporter for their four children. During those bleak years from 1992 through 1994, Samuel and her children lived in a storage shed - equipped with electricity but no plumbing - in Newbury Park.

Now the family's painful experience of working its way out of that dire situation helps them endure the current hardship.

``I've always overcome difficulties. It took a little while, but I overcame homelessness. . . . I just want to see Jerrod whole again . . . and he has a two-year window for improvement,'' Samuel said.

Keeping faith

Though they sometimes worry that Jerrod won't make a full recovery, Chris Samuel believes that the family's shared religious faith will sustain them through whatever comes next.

``Jerrod still needs a lot of therapy, it's going to take a while, but we're putting our trust where it belongs, and that will guide us,'' Chris Samuel said.

That faith imbues the Samuels' actions and perceptions, from the 500 hours of work that they and the children put in on the house (a requirement for all Habitat home buyers), to their belief that God intended that the Habitat house include a wheelchair ramp.

``When we talked about the work to be done on the house - and this was months before Jerrod's accident - they talked about taking out the wheelchair ramp that goes up to a back bedroom. Chris and I talked about it and decided, no, we would just leave it,'' Lisa recalled. ``Now I believe that it was God's will, he knew we might need the ramp.''

If the family knows one thing, it's how to persevere, said DeAnna Wilson, a neighbor to the new Habitat house who also serves as the family's ``partner,'' or mentor through the home-buying and ownership process.

``It's been tough on them, and I know financially it's been a hard time,'' Wilson said. ``It's been one thing after another, but I think now they're feeling like they're finally there.''

The Samuels feel that way as well. On Saturday morning they and the children worked alongside volunteers putting the finishing touches on the home, including planting outdoor landscaping.

``The accident has definitely been a test of our faith,'' Chris Samuel said. ``But there's no doubt in my mind that with that faith, we're going to make it.''

Habitat for Humanity invites the community to the Samuel home dedication at 2 p.m., Sunday at 199 Flittner Circle. The celebration will go on rain or shine, and will include guest speakers, a ribbon cutting, refreshments and an open house. For information about volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, call [phone].

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color in Conejo Edition only) Moving into Ventura County's 10th Habitat for Humanity home are the Samuels, from left, Jerrod, Lisa, Chris, Janita, Jordan and Jerome.

Evan Yee/Daily News

(2--Color in Conejo Edition only) Finishing touches are under way at the Habitat for Humanity house on Flittner Circle.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News