BUZZARD BAY AREA HFH

Buzzards Bay Area Habitat for Humanity (BBAHFH) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit chartered in 1996 and offers a dignified approach that provides a home ownership opportunity for families who struggle to pay rent in our community. Our affiliate serves nine communities on the South Coast: Wareham, Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester, Fairhaven, Acushnet, New Bedford, Dartmouth, and Westport. Our mission is to bring people together to build homes, communities and hope. BBAHFH is celebrating our thirtieth anniversary of helping low-income families this year! Habitat works to eliminate barriers to a better, healthier, more financially stable life. We serve families who have a severity of need for adequate shelter, families who are willing to partner with Habitat by paying an affordable mortgage, while investing 300 sweat equity hours into building their own home. Families must make between 30% and 60% of the median income of the town we are building in. All of our homes are sold with affordable deed restrictions, so they can only be resold to qualified low-income families. BBAHFH maintains contact with our Habitat families to support and facilitate their success in home ownership. Safe, affordable housing is out of reach for far too many people around the country, with nearly 12% of Americans living in poverty. For a low-income family, the chance to live in their own house can be a game changer! With a greater sense of stability, children often make better grades and stay in school longer. Adults may further their education & grow in their careers because they have gained confidence and responsibility of owning a home. A new cycle begins. We are proud to share that in June 2024 we completed our highly energy efficient duplex in Westport, a farmhouse-style, 3-bedroom, 2 bath, 2-unit duplex that fits beautifully within the Westport community. The duplex was built to Passive House standards, one of the highest home energy efficient ways to build, complete with solar panels. The homes were our two most energy efficient builds to date coming in at a Home Energy Rating of -46 and -51, which means that they will actually give back to the electric grid and have minimal-to-no electric bill! The two mothers and their families are now living in their new homes and are both still unable to believe that they are now homeowners. BBAHFH has funded all thirteen of our home builds with volunteer or discounted labor and donations of land and materials. We receive funding through individual donations, donations from local groups, businesses, and grants through companies and foundations to cover expenses associated with a build that are not covered by volunteer labor and material donations. We also work alongside the local vocational schools where students help to build our homes while the students get valuable hands-on experience in the industry. Homes are sold to Habitat families and financed with affordable, low-interest loans. We are excited to share that we have purchased land in New Bedford and are planning to build homes for two to three families over the next couple of years. These will be our first Habitat homes in the city, and we plan to break ground in 2026! In addition, we are continuing to serve the community with our Brush with Kindness (BWK) home repair program. BWK serves low-income homeowners by helping with critical exterior home repairs such as painting, window or door repairs, fixing stairs and porches, and weatherization. BBAHFH can often keep repair costs to a minimum due to discounted materials and volunteer labor. This program helps our vulnerable population, often the elderly or disabled, to 'Age in Place', keeping them safely and comfortably in their homes. During this time of rising housing prices on the South Coast, this is particularly important. We have also performed eight BWK projects from 2024 to 2025. We have also expanded a Ramp Donation program for low-income homeowners which can also help keep elderly and disabled homeowners in their house, giving them accessibility, independence, and the freedom to remain at home. By collecting donated metal ramps, purchasing them when necessary, and storing the ramps, we are creating an inventory available that can be quickly installed by our volunteers when they are needed to help a local family with accessibility to their home. In 2024, we completed eight ramp installations for low-income residents needing safe access to their homes, and in 2025 we completed 27 ramp installations.