A Habitat for Humanity build site is a familiar scene: church groups swing hammers, volunteers erect walls and a small house eventually sprouts up. But it’s what comes next that makes Habitat so powerful — the creation of not just houses, but homes.
Homes where grandkids can stay the night; homes with rocking chairs on front porches, grills in the backyard and bicycles in the driveway.
For Habitat homeowners, even the modestly built houses are often a substantial upgrade from the crime-ridden housing projects or noisy apartment buildings of their pasts. And moving into a Habitat home often ends years of transient living, often in public housing.
This month, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga Area will cut the ribbon on its 250th home since it began building in Chattanooga in 1988. The local organization’s first home, on Signal Mountain, went to a single mother who was living in a school bus with her seven children. The 250th home in North Chattanooga will be sold to a great-grandmother.
In the last 27 years, the organization has built homes all across Chattanooga neighborhoods, some one-off builds and some whole neighborhoods. Nationally, Habitat has built or repaired more than 800,000 homes for low-income families since it was founded in 1976.