'GIVE' Act Would Give Back

"It was a really nice alternative when I was looking for work, and kind of facing some difficulties in other sectors," he said.

Habitat for Humanity builds homes and sells them to low income buyers below market value. The buyer must also provide "sweat equity," several hundred hours of labor in building their own home.

Kenya Hunter, a mother of three, lives in public housing, but will soon live in one of the houses Debor and Hansen are building.

"Right now, the neighborhood that we're in, I don't really let them go outside and play, " Hunter said. "Lot of gun fire, drug selling, things like that, so to have our own home, where we have our own backyard where they can go outside and play would mean a lot."

Advocates of the legislation say it would provide job training opportunities -- and Hansen said he's picked up plenty of skills at the job site.

"It's a construction job, but the skills aren't construction -- it's volunteer management, leadership and being able to learn quickly. And those are three things I know I'll be able to use in the future," he said.

And then there are the benefits that they say you can't count in dollars and cents.

"That is just a whole other level of fulfillment that you can't find in any other job," Bart Thornburg said.

"There's no question did I make a contribution today? Did I do something to help this house?" Mary Olive Jones saidd. "Of course you did; you know it; you see it."