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Chatham Habitat celebrates 20 years

Posted on October 30, 2009October 30, 2009 by Staff

By Beth Mechum, Staff Writer

There have been countless changes over the years at Chatham Habitat for Humanity, but the purpose and message remain the same. Staff members and volunteers alike are a part of Habitat to help families who can’t always help themselves.

Chatham Habitat celebrated its 20-year anniversary during the month of October. What started out as a completely volunteer-driven organization in 1989, building one house that they weren’t even sure they had the funds to finish, now has a full-time staff, a board of directors and 89 houses built.

Chatham Habitat is an official affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, whose stated goal is to “eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action.”

To do this, volunteers (usually church and college groups) come together to build a house in a matter of weeks, allowing a family to move out of often dilapidated residences and become homeowners.

David Scott, a retired homebuilder, was involved with Habitat in the early 1990s and now, with all his kids moved out of the house, has gotten involved again. He’s seen how the program has evolved over the years and said one of the biggest differences is the number of resources Habitat now has available.

“It’s utterly different. We started out in ‘89 with just a small group of volunteers, no money to speak of, no buildings, no lots of land,” Scott said. “Now the organization today, it is very professional, the staff is very dedicated, so different than the early day. It’s a terrific group of people. And it’s not just houses, it’s about family support.

That support is one of the things Habitat staff members say they’re most proud of. After families apply for a Habitat house and are involved in part of the building process, they are required to attend homeowners’ classes in six-week segments.

In these classes, the families learn about keeping a maintenance budget, how to manage a mortgage and other related subjects.

Amy Powell was the first paid staff member and is now Chatham Habitat’s executive director. She came with a background in affordable housing, and said that homeowner education is imperative to Habitat’s success.

“This is true for anybody that purchases a home, especially their first home, that it’s a whole new experience that can be made more successful if there is an educational component that goes along with it,” she said.
Angela Matthews moved into her habitat home over a decade ago and she still attends these classes every year.

“They teach me how to handle my house so I never lose my house, and they teach you how to budget your money well,” Matthews said.

Matthews’ three children were all under the age of 10 when they moved into their Habitat house in Chatham County, and now her oldest daughter speaks on behalf of Habitat whenever needed and helps tutor other Habitat families with younger children.

“It’s like we have a whole community now,” Matthews said. She still keeps in touch with some of the Georgetown student volunteers who helped build her house.
Habitat also now concentrates on building green homes, with more energy-efficient components, and prides itself on building homes that would fit into any community.

“We want to reduce stigma in the community that might be associated with a Habitat home,” Powell said,” and work at having developers incorporate affordable housing in their neighborhoods. They are more likely to do that when they see the beautiful houses we’re designing.”

With a couple of houses in progress now, and no signs of slowing down, Chatham Habitat looks to be a part of the ever-growing Chatham County landscape for years to come.

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