Local Leaders Build with Habitat

BY ANA RISANO || Staff Writer ana@thepilot.com Oct 2, 2023

Local leaders donned hard hats and swung hammers last Friday during Habitat for Humanity of the Sandhills’ annual CEO Build day.

Sandhills Habitat Executive Director Amie Fraley said CEO day is an important build because it shows local leadership who Habitat builds for. 

“If they think, let’s say, if we give our houses away to people who are jobless and homeless, and just looking for a handout, they’re never thinking about their own staff and colleagues as potential buyers for habitat homes,” Fraley said. 

“And especially in today’s climate where affordable housing is getting so challenging for people, we know that our employers want to help find those solutions for their employees, especially really good employees that you want to keep, and so we always say a great employee makes a great Habitat homeowner.”

The Habitat model has homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Homeowners give 300 hours of sweat equity and are guaranteed a mortgage that is no more than 30 percent of their income.

Those at CEO day helped to “raise the walls” of Porsche Hollis’ house. She is a teacher’s assistant at Moore Montessori School. She’s lived in the Sandhills area for over 15 years. Hollis said it’s a “complete dream come true” for her and her son, Brayden. 

“I’m so grateful for all the support, learning how to maintain my future home and for introducing me to such amazing people in my community,” Hollis said. “Thanks to Habitat for Humanity, my dream of becoming a homeowner is finally coming true. This means the world to myself and my son.” 

Fraley said it’s important for the local leaders to not only know the Habitat demographics but also be able to encourage their employees to apply and become homeowners. She said great Habitat homeowners are those who “show up early” and “members of your team that you want to make sure you can keep around for years and years.”

“It’s also just nice for our community to see, we think, those local leaders out swinging hammers and doing something a little normal guyish and girlish,” she said. “And so we think it’s fun.”

Moore Montessori’s Head of School Katie Rucker attended CEO Day, saying she’s excited to partner with Habitat and “make sure people who work in the education sector” have affordable housing. She’s worked with Hollis for five years, calling her an “important part of our team.”

Fraley said each CEO Build is by invitation-only, with Habitat choosing leaders from different sectors that have some tie to the particular home. This year the focus was on education and healthcare, with many familiar faces in attendance. 

Aberdeen Mayor Robbie Farrell said Habitat is “filling a void” by building in Aberdeen because there are many people “who can’t afford the current housing projects, housing costs.” 

It’s great for the neighborhood,” Farrell said. “It’s great for the people who can afford these new homes. It’s building a community. It’s great to have this many volunteers come out to do this. If it wasn’t for the volunteers, this could not happen. It would not happen. It’s filling a need in this area for affordable homes. It’s difficult for young, single or couples to find affordable housing in this area, and this is a way to alleviate some of that.”

FirstHealth CEO Mickey Foster said he’s been volunteering with Habitat for Humanity for nearly two decades. 

“Every community I’ve lived in, I think it’s about giving back to your community, and it’s really important to me to give back and volunteer and help people out. Our core purpose is to care for people at FirstHealth, and this is a prime example of that.”

Sandhills Community College Vice President for Continuing Education and Workforce Development Fallon Brewington said it’s her “favorite event of the year.”

“I like to get to build with all of the movers and shakers in Moore County,” Brewington said. 

SCC President Sandy Stewart said he is “honored to be with this group here because this is an example of a community coming together that really makes a difference.”

Mid Carolina Regional Association of Realtors CEO Sandra Barnhardt said building with Habitat is special. 

“It’s a chance for us to get out,” Barnhardt said. “And see what’s going on — give back. Anytime we can give back as realtors we try to do that.”

She later added, “There’s a desperate need for affordable housing, and a housing shortage overall. So Moore County’s experiencing a housing shortage not just in affordable but any houses. Our inventory’s super, super low.”

The day kicked off with a tiny home dedication for Tytonia McRae, right down the street. The build was completed in partnership with a Sandhills Community College class. Fraley said it’s nice to start the day with a visual of a finished product for those helping on the build. 

Since its inception, the local Habitat has housed 319 local families as of last year. It also helped about 300 people through the repair program and partnered to build 319 homes internationally. Fraley anticipates reaching 1,000 families this year.

Sandhills Habitat’s goal for this fiscal year is to build another 12 homes across the three counties it serves, Moore, Hoke and Richmond. Fraley said the organization received 95 complete homeowner applications during this year’s submission period. 

She said Habitat has picked about 15 applicants to move forward with next steps, which include a volunteer committee visiting the home of each applicant and then “triageing” based on need. 

“Because we may end up with more people than we can financially build for,” Fraley said. “So we just take whoever has the greatest need.”

She said the potential homebuyers should know by mid-October if they were selected this year. 

Sandhills Habitat also just wrapped up its application period for home repairs through its Aging in Place program, which provides home repairs for individuals over 55 years old or with disabilities.

Fraley said it is now matching up applications with the close to $500,000 awarded for this year’s repairs. For most, the program operates with the homeowner paying 25 percent and Habitat covering 75 percent of the cost of the repair.

For further questions, Amie Fraley can be reached at (910) 295-1934 ext. 2310 or afraley@sandhillshabitat.org. Visit sandhillshabitat.org to learn more, or sign up to volunteer.

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