Habitat for Humanity 'Blitz Builds' New Home in East Hampton for Veteran, Single Dad

Habitat for Humanity held a “wall raise” ceremony this week on a new home being constructed for East Hampton native, single father and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Matt Charron.

The Thomas Avenue house is the first that Habitat for Humanity has built in East Hampton Town specifically for a U.S. military veteran, part of the program’s special focus for some of its homes on veterans and first responders.

Charron, who works for The East Hampton Star and LTV East Hampton, has been living in a one-bedroom apartment with his son, Jackson, a sophomore at East Hampton High School. By Christmas, the pair will be able to move into the new two-story, four-bedroom house with a garage.

“We are very fortunate,” Charron said this week. “To have this happening in East Hampton, we could never afford a house of this size here. I’m excited that we get to stay here in East Hampton, which has been such a struggle. When Jackson came to live with me, it was really important to me to keep him stable and in the same school system. And the fact that I grew up here and his cousins go to school here, I really wanted him to have that stability through high school.”

The house is being constructed as a “blitz build” that will have the new house largely completed in just three weeks.

The work is a partnership between Habitat for Humanity and Team Rubicon, a veterans’ support group that organizes disaster response teams. The project is being sponsored by PSEG Long Island, which contributed funding, Ben Krupinski Builder and several other contractors including Quackenbush Cesspools.

Monday’s wall raising was done in conjunction with a large group of local volunteers.

Charron, in accordance with Habitat’s “sweat equity” policy, contributed 300 hours of his own time to work on other Habitat projects around Long Island in recent months and will take out a 30-year mortgage to pay for the construction costs.

“We are grateful to each sponsor, supporter and volunteer helping to make this new home a reality,” said Habitat for Humanity of Long Island CEO Lee Silberman. “This will be our 236th home on Long Island — we hope to have the opportunity to partner with other veterans in the future.”