I don’t have much of an opinion about Habitat for Humanity other than to believe that it’s generally a force for good – you can’t really argue with its aim of providing home ownership to those who couldn’t otherwise afford it although it’s my personal opinion that owning a home means more when you’ve actually earned the money that pays for it.

I do have a slight problem with HH’s role in the rehabilitation of Jimmy Carter’s reputation – something he didn’t deserve. Without it he’d merely be a washed up old dufus with the dubious distinction of being the president who did more to wreck our country in four years than any other Democrat in history. Hell, Clinton didn’t even manage to do as much actual damage to the country in eight years as Carter did in four. But I digress…

Because Habitat for Humanity prides itself in helping the downtrodden and housing the homeless, I found it kind of funny that HH is in the process of evicting a poor, downtrodden couple who lives in Council Bluffs, Iowa and has no plans to help these folks find another place to live. Although these people definitely fit HH’s criteria for need – they are poor and will soon be homeless, HH is interested only in how quickly their lawyers can get a poor old man and his crippled wife thrown out on their asses:

Council Bluffs, Ia. — Retired handyman Ralph Evans and his wife, Karen, an amputee who uses a wheelchair, are being evicted from the rundown home they've lived in rent-free for 23 years — by Habitat for Humanity of Council Bluffs, which ordinarily helps the needy get housing.

The nonprofit organization's business manager, Ron Pierce, says the couple must be out by Tuesday, even if it means they end up in a homeless shelter until a low-income apartment is ready for them in a few weeks.

"We have not stopped our legal proceedings," Pierce said. "This has been a very hard situation for myself and for my board. We just have a real concern about whether that house is structurally sound, and about the safety of the family."

You bet it's a tough situation, Ron, but considering you've got big plans for the place that this potentially structurally unsound house sits and housing the homeless is your thing, it's hard to figure out why Ralph and Karen Evans can't fit into your plans for the land:

The pending eviction has upset the Evanses and some other Council Bluffs residents, who are rankled that Habitat for Humanity won't let the couple stay temporarily, or build them a new house.

"At first we were in disbelief," neighbor Ted Gray said. "Now we're telling Habitat, 'You're going to treat these people with humanity, because that's in your name, and you're not going to throw them out onto the street.' "

The Evanses have been living at 130 Huron Circle since an elderly woman named Priscilla Thomas, who owned 20 lots near Lake Manawa, allowed them to live rent-free in one of her houses in exchange for maintenance and lawn mowing services.

She died in March at age 101. There was nothing in her will about the Evanses.

In August, Habitat purchased the 20 lakeside lots from Thomas' son, Ronald B. Thomas of Colorado, for $270,000.

Apparently, however, paying back a loan is more important to HH than helping the Evanses:

Pierce said the organization is eager to repay some of its loan amount by reselling six lots, including the one with a 50-year-old house where the Evanses are living.

"Early on, I, and the board, met with the Evanses to encourage them that this isn't a place where they can stay through the winter and they have to be aggressively looking for something else," Pierce said.

The house has apparently had the gas shut off due to a leak and the Evanses have been using a couple space heaters donated by neighbors to keep warm with. But rather than help the Evanses out of the dilapidated house with no gas service, HH is more concerned about the house burning down:

Pierce fears that's a fire hazard. He thinks the house should be condemned and asked the city to inspect it. Council Bluffs' chief building official, Daniel Woellhof, didn't return a reporter's phone calls.

Rather than getting in a pissing match with a couple of poor old geezers, you'd think it would just be easier for HH to help them find a place to live. But they won't, so the local housing agency is:

Meanwhile, the Evanses filled out applications for low-income housing, with help from a caseworker from the League of Human Dignity, which advocates for rights for people with disabilities in Nebraska and southwest Iowa.

The Evanses said they've been worrying a lot lately about where they'll live.

"We've been looking around and we haven't found anything yet, so we'll probably end up sleeping in our car," said Karen Evans, who owns a 19-year-old Ford wagon.

The director of Council Bluffs' housing agency, Rob Stephens, said recent deaths of some elderly residents at the two municipal complexes, Regal Towers and Dudley Court, mean there will be openings soon. But it usually takes at least a month for families to clean out belongings and for staff to update the rooms with fresh paint and carpeting.

Stephens has a good question for HH that I'd ask myself if he hadn't asked it already:

"With the resources Habitat for Humanity has, for crying out loud, why can't they wait a couple months?" Stephens asked. "It just seems kind of odd when an organization whose mission is to provide decent housing for the homeless buys a property and then turns around and evicts someone."

Great question and good point, Mr. Stephens. But apparently, the total irony of the situation completely escapes those fine folks at Habitat for Humanity. Where's Jimmy the buffoon when you really need him?