Columbia County Habitat for Humanity (CCHFH) is planning to accelerate its building program and is introducing a new homeowner assistance service in 2022 to help address the escalating housing affordability crisis in Columbia County.
Al Bellenchia, executive director/CEO of CCHFH, said, “We are committed to doing more to create more housing for the county’s lower income and working families who simply cannot find safe, affordable places to live. We are also looking to do more to help struggling homeowners to make minor repairs, make their homes safer and more accessible, and to help keep seniors in place.”
The CCHFH Board of Directors has adopted a new framework to guide the organization over the next several years and is actively planning for increasing the building capacity of the Habitat affiliate, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2023.
Christian Kersten, president of the Columbia County Habitat Board of Directors, said, “We are encouraged by the groundswell of support for increasing the county’s affordable housing stock. We must do more to keep our county economically competitive, and that includes housing for our workforce. Many of our service and agricultural workers, for example, simply cannot afford to live where they work.”
“We are having many conversations with like-minded individuals and organizations on how we can partner to use the Habitat model to increase affordable homeownership county-wide, as well as provide more services to struggling lower-income homeowners,” Bellenchia said. “Habitat is the only option for affordable homeownership for many. And safe, affordable homes matter in our county. It creates stability in a workforce, leads to better economic and health outcomes, builds community stability and a path out of poverty, and it leads to better educational performance, lower levels of crime, and greater civic engagement.”
