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Danbury students install plumbing in Housatonic Habitat home
The students spent the past two months installing the plumbing in one of the homes in the New Preston section. They completed their work last week.
“Freshman, sophomore year, you work up to this point,” said Ben Weissmann, a Henry Abbott Tech junior. “It’s great to see all the skills you’ve been learning put to real-life use. You’re actually working on a house people will move into.”
“The students and instructors have been great to work with, and we are happy to have their help on our Habitat build,” said Diana Arfine, executive director for Housatonic Habitat.
From the classroom to the construction site
The land on Myland Lane was donated to Housatonic Habitat in 2018 by developers Winston Fowlkes and Joseph Gitterman of Washington.
“We were very fortunate to have received a donation of land to build eight affordable Habitat homes,” Arfine said. “We built one in 2022, and are currently working on four more.”
Peter Arcoma, construction supervisor for Housatonic Habitat, said the nonprofit has reached out to Henry Abbott Tech several times and the school has expressed a desire to help Housatonic Habitat.
“It has worked out extremely well with the kids,” Arcoma said. “It’s a unique situation where they actually do the plumbing in the new home, and that doesn’t happen all that often, and they are truly learning.”
Arcoma said the students also benefited from working alongside professions involved in home building.
Jim Roberts, head of the plumbing and heating department at Henry Abbott Tech, said the students tried to be on the site every day, working in three-hour work shifts. In addition to installing plumbing and water piping, Roberts said, the students learned codes for plumbing work.
“Our main objective is to have the students do the work that’s hands-on,” he said. “It’s preparing them for the workforce.”
Austin Brown, a junior, said, “It’s really interesting because when you do it in shop, it’s on a bunch of boards in a classroom.”
Leonardo Paragarino, a junior, said, “There’s also a lot less teacher supervision here so you have to figure things out for yourself.”
Chris Marino, also a junior, agreed. “There’s more independence working here, and it’s more realistic. You see how everything connects and ties together.”
Future Housatonic Habitat projects
Roberts said Henry Abbott Tech hopes to work on more houses with Housatonic Habitat at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year. Arcoma said he hopes to get the students involved with the HVAC work in the new homes.
In addition to the affordable homes, Arfine said Housatonic Habitat has an “Aging in Place” program that offers free home repairs to seniors and veterans living on fixed incomes, enabling them to safely live in their homes.
The program includes minor home repairs and modifications to meet American With Disabilities Act standards, such as adding grab bars, repairing broken stairs or railings or fixing rotted exterior siding.
“We hope to use students from Abbott Tech on some of these projects as well,” Arfine said.
