Habitat for Humanity looks to expand

Local chapter seeking projects, volunteers in area

The Montgomery County chapter of Habitat for Humanity is looking at Lansdale.

Specifically, Habitat officials are looking to Lansdale to help spread the word about Habitat’s various programs, recruit volunteers, and see if any local homes are in need of repairs or restoration.

“The repairs can take place in any part of the county. They can take place here in Lansdale, outside of Lansdale, all the way up to Green Lane, we’ve done Schwenksville, Collegeville, Elkins Park, we just did several in Pottstown,” said Executive Direc-

tor Marianne Lynch.

Habitat Montco has operated for 26 years and built or rehabilitated 60 homes, thus far largely focused in Norristown, Pottstown and Upper Dublin, with a handful in Hatfield Borough and builds planned in Bridgeport later this year, Lynch told borough council Wednesday.

Habitat homes are typically sold for a zero percent mortgage, which families pay back to Habitat and those payments are used for construction of newer homes, and each owner is required to put in “sweat equity” — hours of work on their own home, based on the total cost. Sweat equity typically totals 200 hours for new homeowners, and at least eight hours for each repair done in a smaller repair project.

“We also go in and rehab vacant places that are not necessarily on the tax rolls, and turn them into beautiful homes that go back on the tax rolls and benefit the community,” she said.

Families are chosen for Habitat projects based on a combination of their need for home repairs or a new home and their income. Lynch said Habitat Montco works with families who make between 20 and 80 percent of the median income for the county, which in Montgomery’s case is $73,000 for a family of four. The typical repair project focuses on repairs ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 in cost, to fix problems she said are critical but not emergencies.

“Things like new roofs, HVAC (upgrades), plumbing, electrical issues, things that are really focused on safety and security and accessibility for the home,” she said.

On a recent repair project in Hatfield Borough, Lynch said, Habitat worked with the municipality’s historic architecture review board to plan repairs to a home that fit the historic district where it was located, and the homeowners, volunteers, and a construction crew took roughly two weeks to repair woodwork, fix utilities, and otherwise repair the home.

Before each project starts, experts from Habitat perform a full house assessment to find any problems the homeowners might not know about — Lynch cited an example of a homeowner who noticed mold on their counters, but didn’t know about burst pipes that meant full plumbing repairs were needed.

“Our fiscal year starts in July, so next year we’re planning on completing 25 of these repairs,” Lynch said.

Smaller-scale projects include Habitat’s Brush With Kindness program, which focuses on lower cost improvements like painting, carpentry, or landscaping and yard cleanup. Lynch said Lansdale officials and residents can contact Habitat if they see a home they think could benefit from a project, or if they’d like to volunteer at one.

“One of the great things about having the Habitat name is that we’re able to access a lot of volunteers. Students, especially high school and college students, have a lot of energy, so let’s get ’em out in a yard and get it cleaned up,” she said.

Habitat Montco also operates a Re-Store at 533 Foundry Road in West Norriton, where donated furniture,

houseware, appliances and other materials are sold at heavy discounts and the proceeds are used for future Habitat projects. Council member Carrie Hawkins-Charlton said she recently bought two old dressers there, and Lynch said the store has a truck and is able to set up pickup appointments for those with large items they’d like to donate but can’t deliver.

Assistant Borough Manager John Ernst said he and Customer Service and Records Manager Pat Chapman recently attended a meeting of municipalities throughout the county and learned of Habitat’s efforts, and that led to the invitation.

“We thought, ‘Wow, what a great opportunity it would be to have Habitat come to Lansdale and see how they could help us,’” he said.

Application forms for homes that could be suitable for Habitat projects are now available at Lansdale’s municipal building, and Ernst said he felt inviting Habitat to town was “a no-brainer.”

Builds and restoration projects could be “a wonderful way to get the community involved, and also become an additional piece of revitalization or a community,

that doesn’t necessarily have to do with bringing businesses to town, but is just as important a piece of revitalization as business and economic

development,” Ernst said.

For more information on Habitat for Humanity’s Montgomery County chapter, call (610) 278-7710,

visit www.HabitatMontco.org, search for “Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County PA” on Facebook or follow @HabitatMontco on Twitter.