Habitat for Humanity was founded on the mission to bring people together to build homes, communities and hope. Now, that mission has spread into Newton County.

In February, the Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity officially expanded its outreach to Newton County with the goal of providing low-income families an opportunity to get on their feet through the various programs.

With housing insecurity becoming both a local and national issue, Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity Chief Executive Officer Cynthia Jenkins was tasked with identifying communities that may need assistance.

“We started talking to people… really getting out in the community to find out what the needs were and said, ‘You know what? Habitat really needs to come out here,’” Jenkins said.

Now, Jenkins and her team have begun the process of obtaining funding to provide the array of services that Habitat for Humanity offers.

The program that is most synonymous with Habitat is the new construction program, which allows the construction of homes for qualified, limited-income families. This provides families with an opportunity to have a sound place to live and own a home, with many of the recipients becoming first-time homeowners.

This is not, however, a complimentary house.

“There’s a myth that Habitat for Humanity houses are free,” said longtime board member Jim Corbin, a Newton County native himself.

Potential homeowners must go through a well-vetted application process that is reviewed by a family selection committee. The applicants must also undergo a required 50-hour course with the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University, which provides education on financial literacy and home maintenance.

Once all the boxes are checked, the houses are built by volunteers on land that is either sold or donated to Habitat. The homeowners then pay off a little-to-no interest mortgage based on their household income.

“These are hardworking people who have full-time jobs, who are working in your community,” Jenkins said. “They just don’t make a lot of money.” 

Corbin says that these homes built by Habitat are often bright spots in neighborhoods.

“They’re [the homeowners] trained educationally and they really like having their own place,” Corbin said. “You’ll go to a street and if there’s just one Habitat house on it, you can tell that house, because it's the best looking house on that street.”

Two other services that Habitat offers are veteran and senior home repair services. As the name suggests, this provides home repairs for military veterans and senior citizens who may not otherwise be able to afford them. It follows a similar application and educational model as the new construction program.

Currently, the veteran home repair service is the initial step in Habitat’s outreach in Newton County. Right now, Jenkins says that Habitat is in the process of identifying qualified candidates to receive this service.

But there is much more to come when talking about the future of Habitat for Humanity in Newton County.

One of those future events that Jenkins hopes to showcase is a women’s build  in Newton County.

“This is a program where we have all women on staff – except for our licensed contractor staff – and we work with women to do either home repairs or new construction in Newton County,” Jenkins said. “We’re aiming to work on those veteran home repairs in a series of builds with women on site.”

There are also plans to run a gala, where designers will take recycled construction materials to create garments. All funds would go toward the Habitat programs.

As Habitat continues its efforts in Newton County, there are a number of ways that readers can assist in the mission. One of those ways is by volunteering, either with helping repairs or serving on a family selection committee. Another is just by donating directly to fund the projects.

Perhaps the most impactful assistance for those who have land is by donating or selling land in order for potential new construction down the line. This, according to Corbin and Jenkins, has the possibility for tax benefits.

Those who wish to become involved with Habitat for Humanity in Newton County can visit https://www.schabitat.org/newton/