It was just a couple of years ago that Brookhaven resident Sophia Catchings suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident, confining her to a wheel chair. Now, Habitat for Humanity, in collaboration with numerous volunteers, is working to give her a degree of independence by building a home that is accessible to her.

“I’m excited,” Catchings said. “I can live life independently. And I’m happy. I’m excited to see it coming up doing well and people coming out trying to help.”

This is the second house construction supervisor Pete Corkern has worked on for Habitat. When he first began, he volunteered as an electrician. But his background was as a general contractor, and he quickly found himself in his current position.

“The plugins are higher than a standard house, and the switches are lower,” Corkern said about making the home more accessible for Catchings. “The shower floor is flush with the rest of the bathroom floor, so she can roll in with a wheel chair. I’m trying to make everything as handy for her as possible.”

Catchings said life has continued post-accident. She recently got a degree in accounting.

“I thought things would be different, but I got back on the path by trying to live life to the fullest,” Catchings said. “I’m trying to live life the way I see best fit for me.”

Corkern said the house has been under construction since Dec. 1. People and companies that have contributed time and materials to this house are:

• Bozeman Tire

• Tim and Scotty Laird

• Hugh Mathis Construction

• Boyd Steel

• T.J. Braxton Masonry

• Bailey Truss Plant

• Huntington Lumber

• Scotty & Michael Smith Air Conditioning

• Blake Wallace Plumbing & Insulation

• Lincoln Lumber

• Reed’s Metals

• Cupit & Cupit Construction

• Perkins Hardware

• Semy Smith

• Grif Wells

• Tommy Franklin Havolin

• Randy Hammil

• Charley Campbell

• Croft

• Walmart Distribution Center

• Rutledge Remodeling

• William Davis