Habitrail For Humanity Under Fire

PAYNEVILLE, KY - Habitrail For Humanity, the faith-based, non-profit group that builds networks of affordable, transparent-tube housing for needy families, has come under intense criticism for its recent projects in the Payneville area.

Above: A new Habitrail For Humanity structure nears completion in Payneville.
"This is no way for people to live," said Kentucky Family Outreach coordinator Martin Weiss, speaking Monday in front of a half-constructed, five-story Habitrail outside Payneville. "While it's true that poor Americans need a viable alternative to housing projects, placing them in large, confusing warrens of see-through cylinders is not the solution."
Habitrail For Humanity spokesman Nick Bulwer, whose organization has snapped together more than half a million linear feet of low-cost housing since its inception in 1976, said he was "baffled" by the criticism.
"The 5 million Americans at or below the poverty line pay over half their income for housing, and that's not even addressing the rising number of homeless families," Bulwer said. "Because of Habitrail For Humanity, another 600 families are inside, out of the rain, and away from danger every year. With the help of our no-interest mortgages, these people will be owning residences for the first time in their lives. After spending years in cramped, dirty apartments, they finally have enough room to scurry around."
Bulwer said the Payneville Habitrail is one of the most ambitious housing projects Habitrail For Humanity has ever built, with 17 rectangular, single-family living units linked to a shared three-story common area and a circular exercise room. The interconnected dwellings are expected to seal in over 200 needy individuals.
In spite of Habitrail For Humanity's plans to provide so many with homes, Weiss criticized the new structure.
"There's certainly a need for charitable organizations that help house the less fortunate," Weiss said. "But helping the needy piece together flimsy plastic tubes and then snapping the door shut after them gives them shelter at the expense of their dignity."
Comments like these failed to deter former North Carolina senator Jesse Helms and Kentucky-born Ashley Judd, who spent several hours Monday shoveling cedar shavings into the brand-new Payneville units.

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