Orange County, NC, Habitat for Humanity

Causes: Christianity, Community & Neighborhood Development, Economic Development, Homeless & Housing, Housing Development, Construction & Management, Religion

Mission: Habitat for Humanity of Orange County changes lives by bringing together God''s people and resources to help families in need build and own quality affordable housing.

Programs: HHOC was incorporated in 1984, and completed its first home in 1987. With donations and volunteer labor, HHOC constructs modest but well-built homes, which are then sold to qualifying families. The buyers receive a no interest mortgage paid over twenty to thirty years. House payments are then recycled to build future homes. Homebuyers are required to contribute 325 hours of ?sweat equity? toward the construction of their home and other Habitat houses. HHOC retains the right to repurchase the houses it sells, and uses deferred payment second mortgages and equity sharing to ensure that the community?s investment of funds and labor will continue to benefit low income families if the original buyer sells a Habitat house.HHOC seeks to educate and empower its homebuyers through a series of relevant workshops and one-on-one training. HHOC also strives to educate the broader community about the crisis in affordable housing by involving hundreds of new volunteers each year from all walks of life in our work. We also promote the positive value of diversity by bringing together people of varied economic, religious, social and racial backgrounds to work together toward a common goal?building decent homes for families in need.HHOC addresses the county?s affordable housing crisis by serving households who could otherwise not afford to buy a home in Orange County, and who often cannot afford the rent on a decent apartment.