Austin Pride Build 2007

For the past few weekends, a handful of kindhearted volunteers have shown up to a patch of land in southeast Austin to help, literally, raise the roof of one Austinite's dreams.

These folks are with the Austin Pride Build, the first-ever Habitat for Humanity project orchestrated by an LGBT community in Texas. Recently, they were honored as a Critics Pick for "Best Hammers of Justice" in this year's Best of Austin poll.

"We're proud that Austin would be the first place in Texas where a community of LGBT citizens would come out to build a house [and] give back to the community that has accepted diversity in such a welcoming way," said Michael Kellerman, project coordinator for this year's build.

Pride Build's first home recipient is 64-year-old Marta, a napkin presser at a local laundry facility who's spent the past eight years living in a rundown rental home on the eastside. "It's hard to imagine someone living there," reads their website. "[There are] broken windows, rotted floorboards and cracks in the ceiling so wide that Marta has stuffed towels in them to soak up the rain which drips onto her kitchen light bulb."