HENRYVILLE — Boots are on the ground in Henryville for the most ambitious project that New Albany-Floyd County Habitat for Humanity has undertaken in its 21-year history.

Habitat for Humanity — partnered with the statewide Habitat organization, other Habitat affiliates across the state and AmeriCorps — aims to build 10 new homes for low-income families affected by the March 2 tornadoes in a project it’s calling “Raising the Roof for Southern Indiana.” The exteriors of the homes will be erected during a blitz build set to take place between Oct. 8 and 12.

Before this project, New Albany-Floyd County Habitat for Humanity had built an average of about one home per year. The blitz build allows the group to harness the resources of other organizations.

“The idea was to bring in our Habitat affiliates from other parts of the state to help get those houses built, to bring in our expert construction managers and tool trailers and all the resources needed to do that,” said Gina Leckron, Indiana Habitat state director. “We can’t ask those fellows to leave their offices for almost months at a time, so if we can do it in a week — we can ask them to give us a week of their time to help meet the need.

“So the blitz build is a way for us to build many more houses in a short period of time and mobilize our resources in a better way.”

But there’s plenty of preparation to be done ahead of the blitz build. Foundations for the homes — which will be built in Henryville’s Twin Oaks subdivision — are already starting to be laid, and AmeriCorps volunteers are at work at the former site of Tallent Lumber in Henryville, where they’re enclosing a section of the outdoor warehouse to secure component parts like toilets, windows, sinks and cabinets for the new homes.

“We’ve been kind of welcomed with open arms,” said Nick Rosmiller, 24, an AmeriCorps member. “I’m sure they’ve had a lot of people in and out of their city in the last six months, but the impression’s been great. The volunteer center that we meet a lot of the locals in has just been really welcoming.

“People really seem to appreciate what we’re doing here, and I’m sure they’re looking to get back on their feet — kind of move on from this as soon as they can.”

Rosmiller, along with nine other AmeriCorps members, arrived Tuesday. They will serve in Henryville for eight weeks, and another group of between 10 and 15 will arrive after that, according to volunteer building supervisor Houser Canter, a semiretired, New Albany-based builder.

But the project is still in need of assistance. Habitat for Humanity has set a budget of about $1.7 million for the project, and is still looking for assistance in the form of volunteers and donations. Funding has been one of the obstacles the project needs to overcome. The blitz was initially scheduled for the second week of September, but had to be pushed back.

“It’s disappointing for us, because we want to help families as quickly as possible,” Leckron said. “But to do something on this scale, it’s taking a lot of time to get ready to set the stage for construction. We’re using some government funding, and so it’s taking some time to get that ironed out. We’re still trying to get all of the pieces pulled together.”

Canter said people are stepping up, but more help is always needed.

“We can always use more things — manufacturers and supplies, people like that — and we can use good deals,” Canter said. “We don’t want to just knock someone out just because they can’t help us immensely. We’ll take all the help we can get and we’ll work with anybody.”

Additionally, Habitat is still looking for families to take up residence in the new homes. Applicants are encouraged to call 812-297-5002 to see if they qualify.

“Our main goal, our major goal is to identify families,” said Lisa Curry, president of New Albany-Floyd County Habitat, “because there has been so much devastation and tragedy in that area, and so many people have been hurt, but a lot of them are not still there. They’ve moved around.”