Habitat for Humanity- NCG Dedicates Home to Single Mother

In August, a local family enthusiastically received the keys to their new Habitat for Humanity home in northeast Forsyth County. The emotion of the dedication day was felt by all, from the homeowner, Amanda Higgins and her daughter, to volunteers and sponsors, to family members and friends. The happiness that shone on each face at the completion of this home was contagious.

Amanda grew up in Cumming and is blessed with a beautiful daughter. With the support of family and friends, she decided to go to college where she received her Bachelors in Human Services. She is now pursuing a Master’s degree in Family and Human Development with plans to complete the program in less than one year. While working on her Master’s degree, Amanda works for the Head Start Program. In her role, she assists low-income and at-risk families in applying and enrolling their children in an educational setting. Through her personal experience with affordable housing, Amanda can now encourage the families she serves to work towards a better future.

In order to become a Habitat homeowner, families must qualify through an application process where they have to demonstrate a need, meet strict income guidelines, and pass rigorous background and credit checks. Once selected and approved as a partner family, they also provide 200 hours of “sweat equity” by working on their home and the other homes of partner families.

Helping to support Amanda in building her home are our house sponsors - Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd, Publix Super Market Charities, Solvay Specialty Polymers, Wells Fargo Housing Foundation, VMWare and The UPS Foundation. They provided funds and volunteer resources which enable Habitat to provide decent, affordable homes to our local partner families.

About Habitat for Humanity-North Central Georgia

Habitat for Humanity-North Central Georgia is a non-profit, Christian housing ministry that builds affordable housing for purchase by low- to moderate-income families who demonstrate a capacity for responsible homeownership. Since its inception in 1995, Habitat-NCG has built or rehabbed over 310 homes in North Fulton, Cherokee and Forsyth/Dawson counties. Partner families are required to attend educational classes related to homeownership and perform 200 sweat equity hours; they earn between 30% and 60% of the Atlanta area median income and purchase their homes through a 30-year, no-interest loan financed by Habitat-NCG. In 2014, Habitat-NCG started a home repair program targeted primarily at veterans and seniors. To date, 65 repair projects have been completed, bringing the total number of persons served by the ministry to over 1373, including more than 800 children. For more information regarding Habitat for Humanity-North Central Georgia, please visit www.habitat-ncg.org.