Categories: Bucks County Beacon

Habitat for Humanity Bucks County Highlights 35 Years of Changing Lives Locally

From Riegelsville to Bristol and threaded over 604 square miles of communities, Habitat for Humanity Bucks County operations continue to make home ownership possible for income restricted families.

At a regular meeting of Bucks County Commissioners held April 2, Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo read a proclamation affirming the global non-profit housing organization’s work, which was favored by the late President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter.

Habitat has an “abiding commitment to provide opportunities for Bucks County families to increase their independent and economic well-being through home ownership,” DiGirolamo said.

From amending local zoning regulations, operating donation fueled resale locations and providing financial literacy resources to everyone, Habitat Bucks County helps eligible program participants create reality from their housing dreams.

Habitat Bucks County CEO Florence Kawoczka said a recent local building company partnership would bring more housing diversity to the county through municipal zoning processes. She did not name the building firm.

“[While] partnering with a local developer in Middletown Township – this has provided Bucks County’s first inclusionary zoning model, establishing the benefits to developers to partner with a non-profit,” Kawoczka said. The “inclusionary zoning model to be replicated” could create mixed income communities throughout the county, she added.

Since 1990, Habitat Bucks County has built 132 homes. Through its home repair program the organization has renovated 344 homes correcting accessibility issues for property owners.

Homes built in recent times include energy efficient techniques, Kawoczka said. Habitat’s three Bucks County ReStore locations: in Langhorne, Quakertown and Warminster “provides critical income for our programs.”

In 2022, a Land Trust model was established with a goal to perpetuate affordable housing.

“The financial model provides for the initial investment to the first buyer, plus a share of the home’s appreciation value. The Habitat home seller is obligated to sell to another income qualified buyer, thereby paying it forward” Kawoczka explained.

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Almost Home, Habitat Bucks County’s financial literacy program, offers lunch and learn workshops and other resources free of charge to all income earners to help everyone “understand their relationship with finances,” she said.

Across Bucks County, residential housing stock is aging, according to Kawoczka.

“Folks who could once afford to buy their homes…now struggle to make repairs and stay” in them, she said.

According to Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, Pennsylvania housing stock is among the oldest in the nation with a median house age of 57. Pennsylvania is behind New York’s median age of 63; Massachusetts median home age is 58 and Rhode Island’s is 61, the report said.

Habitat Bucks County has helped 344 families remain safely in their homes by making critical safety repairs, replacing leaking roofs, and modifying accessibility, Kawoczka said.

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As homeowners abandon “blighted homes” in the county, Habitat has rehabilitated or rebuilt more than 20 vacant and ravaged homes to return them to the active housing market.

These efforts provide opportunities for home buyers to move into established neighborhoods, while Habitat’s quality work increases the property’s value, she said.

In 2024 Habitat Bucks employed 64 people and spent roughly $8.005 million on missions and operations. More than 6 million pounds of goods were kept out of landfills through donations and resale, according to a presentation Kawoczka provided at the commissioners meeting.

“Statistics show that children and adults thrive – both physically and mentally – in a home they own,” she said.