By rssfeeds-admin 
Florence Kawoczka, longtime CEO of Habitat for Humanity Bucks County, will retire this summer.
“To our Habitat Bucks team, together we have made an incredible impact on the housing in our county,” Kawoczka said in an email announcing her retirement. She is proud of the organization’s community impact during her tenure since 2011.
Founded in 1976 in Americas, Georgia, Habitat for Humanity International operates world-wide helping to build, renovate and repair decent affordable housing. Its vision is “a world in which everyone has a decent place to live.”
Habitat partners with low-income individuals and families to build or renovate affordable housing provided “at cost” without profit and through a combination of “sweat equity” labor – from 300 to 500 hours by the new homeowner(s) – affordable mortgage loans and financial education.
According to a February 28 Zillow report, the average price of a single family home in Bucks County is $504, 215, up 3.3% over last year.
“It is a challenge, knowing the extreme need for attainable housing, having the team and motivation to build beautiful, energy-efficient homes and generous donor and volunteer support, yet being unable to build enough homes to meet the demand,” Kawoczka added.
She said Habitat Bucks receives about 40 applications, on average, for every home it builds.
“Bucks County is such a competitive real estate market, putting Habitat in competition against many well-financed bidders. Even when we are able to acquire property many times, current zoning regulations restrict us from building more than a single home or two” when three or four units would better serve the needs,” she noted.
According to Kawoczka many potential homeowners are not looking for large “super-sized houses or large yards to maintain” but rather for right-sized housing they can afford to furnish and enjoy spending time in while nurturing their families.
Among Kawoczka’s biggest rewards while leading Habitat Bucks has been watching the organization’s mission remain focused and responsive to the evolving needs of Bucks County’s communities.
“While the traditional Habitat model was to serve up to 60% of the median family income, our affiliate could see that because of the high cost of living in our beautiful county there are households earning more than 60% yet still unable to qualify for enough of a mortgage to buy a decent home,” she explained.
In response, Habitat Bucks expanded to serve a need among established homeowners struggling to pay for and completed needed home repairs.
“A Brush with Kindness” began as Habitat Bucks’ home repair program “literally making simple fixes to the exterior of homes – then gradually growing our scope to satisfy the need for more critical, major system repairs and accessibility modifications,” Kawoczka explained.
She is proud of the establishment of a permanent affordability model in 2022, which means every home sold is guaranteed to be affordable to future generations of home buyers.
Mike Wilson, president of Habitat Bucks board of directors, said the board is “grateful to Florence for her visionary leadership, mission-focused approach and advocacy.”
Among the many lessons Kawoczka learned leading Habitat, the value and meaning of home rises to the top of a long list.
“I learned the importance of ‘home.’ Your home is so much more than the four walls. Data clearly shows that owning your own home improves the mental and physical health of all who live in it,” she said.
Having a home relieves worry over rent increases and landlord relationships, living with “subpar maintenance” or in crowded conditions, Kawoczka added.
“Homeownership greatly improves the well-being of adult homeowners. And the children of homeowners are known to perform better in school, have fewer absences and show improved physical health due to better-maintained homes,” Kawoczka said.
Kawoczka said the Habitat Bucks team has made a long-lasting impact on Bucks County housing affordability.
READ: Affordability Is a Vanishing Promise for the Middle Class
She encourages the next executive director to seek new opportunities for growth and service including providing for “critical workers” or essential to a community’s safe operation like emergency and fire service workers; seniors and others struggling to afford needed repairs to their homes.
“To the next CEO of Habitat Bucks, congratulations on joining the Habitat Bucks family! I hope you feel as blessed as I have felt in leading such an incredible team in fulfilling a much-needed mission,” Kawoczka said.
Discover more from RSS Feeds Cloud
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.