New grants help Houston County Habitat for Humanity make more families feel at home

Gov. Brian Kemp’s office awarded $200,000 to Houston County Habitat for Humanity to support their efforts helping local families get affordable housing.

The new grant was announced in August as part of the over $62 million total that the governor’s office awarded to 20 organizations fighting homelessness and housing insecurity in the state.

Houston County Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Bill Goggin and Development Director Jim Taylor applied for the grant with hopes to dedicate the funds toward home repairs for low income, disabled, elderly and veteran community members. Taylor said they were surprised when they found out they were awarded $200,000.

“It was a long shot to be honest with you,” he said. “In the past, we’ve only had about $40,000 a year that we can contribute towards repairs for those categories. We would typically top out on that come February or March. We really had no other funds that we could use for those projects. And we’re flooded with requests, because there’s such a demand for it.”

Taylor said the funds will pay for home repairs for five families a year for the next four years. These repairs may include services like building ramps or fixing roofs, windows, HVAC or plumbing.

Gov. Kemp’s office stated that the award money came from the American Rescue Plan and the State Fiscal Recovery Fund.

The organization also recently received an additional $40,000 grant for repairs from the Home Depot Foundation as well as a $1 million gift from author and philanthropist Mackenzie Scott in March. Scott donated a total of $436 million to Habitat for Humanity International and 83 Habitat affiliates.

“We are blessed and highly favored in the Houston County community,” Taylor said. “If it wasn’t for their generosity, we couldn’t do what we do … We can’t thank our donating partners enough.

Houston County Habitat for Humanity has served the community since 1991. In addition to providing repairs, the organization builds affordable homes for low income families and runs ReStore, their store in Warner Robins selling new and used furniture, appliances and household goods.

Houston County Habitat for Humanity is currently building its 67th home.

“I like our program because it gives people the dignity of owning their own home, which for a lot of people is the American dream,” Taylor said. “It costs us about $71,000 to build a new three-bedroom home for somebody, because of the donations from our generous vendors and companies in the area … We’re slated to build six houses this year in Houston County, four in Warner Robins and two in Perry.”