Team Depot volunteers helped him build his new Habitat Pennyrile home. Now Jerry has a Habitat home on the same land where his old home once stood. “My experience with Habitat and all the volunteers was great,” Jerry says. “They were easy to work with and kept me informed on how things were coming along. I feel blessed in so many ways!”

Jamie Robinson-Melcher, a store manager for The Home Depot and a Team Depot captain, remembers meeting future Habitat homeowners and their families while volunteering with Habitat Bowling Green/Warren County. 

“Knowing that we were making an impact on the lives of a person that we can meet and we could see,” Jamie continues, “And seeing the excitement that they had knowing they were going to have a place to call home once those builds were completed was absolutely impactful.”

Responding together when the need arises

By working alongside families affected by disaster, Habitat and The Home Depot Foundation have helped advance housing affordability during a time when it’s needed the most. Since 2021, The Home Depot Foundation has provided nearly US$2 million to support Habitat’s efforts to help families impacted by disasters. The Foundation has also funded Habitat’s Repair Corps program since 2012 to help build, repair or rehabilitate more than 1,800 homes in partnership with U.S. military veterans and their families. During the builds in Bowling Green and Dawson Springs, The Home Depot Foundation helped support construction costs and capacity building.

“The notable aspect of The Home Depot Foundation funding was the inclusion of capacity funds, which proved invaluable in situations where there was a sudden need for additional personnel, trucks and equipment to construct numerous houses,” Heath says. “Their assistance in that regard is not something we typically encounter in our regular funding sources.”

“Having that funding from The Home Depot Foundation kind of helped us bridge a gap,” Rodney agrees. “Everybody wants to fund houses. But it takes people to make that happen.”

Midland County Habitat decided to build multifamily units after conducting a housing need and market assessment study of the area with community partners. “The data told us we were largely a single-family home community and that there needed to be a diversity of housing options moving forward,” says Jennifer Chappel, Midland County Habitat president and CEO.

Lending a helping hand

“Neighbors can look out for each other, and we know each other here,” Brenda says of her new community.

Knowing her fellow Habitat homeowners came in handy when Brenda’s smoke alarm began beeping one night. She called her neighbor, Heidi, who came over to help her switch out the batteries.

Like Brenda, Heidi was looking for a safer environment to call home. Exposure to mold in a previous residence had wreaked havoc on her health. “I had a lot of health issues going on, but mold was a pretty big issue in that,” Heidi says.

During her build, Heidi was “emotionally overwhelmed” by the support of friends and family who volunteered to work alongside her and help make her dream of having a healthy home come true. “They’re all just happy that I’m in a healthy spot because they watched me go through such a tough time,” she says. “Now I’m somewhere where I can finally start to have a normal life.”

Building a more sustainable future

Brenda and Heidi’s homes were built with support from DuPont. The company provided funding and donated product to help construct the multifamily community, and its employees volunteered to help the families build their homes. DuPont staff members also identified and addressed air sealing and insulation opportunities in the homes’ designs, helping to make them more efficient. With DuPont’s help, Midland County Habitat’s multifamily homes achieved a high efficiency Energy Star HERS® rating. The HERS® Index is a nationally recognized system for evaluating a home’s energy performance in the U.S. 

“The donated product is really what makes the energy efficiencies of these homes,” Jennifer says. “We know that the largest bill a homeowner will pay is their mortgage payment. And typically, your second largest bill is your utilities. These homes have an affordable mortgage, so the cost of housing is controlled. But energy use and consumption are lowered ensuring further savings. On average, these homeowners are paying about US$100 a month on energy bills year-round.” 

“This home is much more energy efficient,” says Brenda, who has seen an improvement in her utility costs now that she’s moved into her Habitat home. 

“At DuPont, we are committed to working with local communities like Midland to help ensure that everyone has access to energy-efficient and resilient homes,” says Tim Lacey, DuPont’s global vice president and general manager who also serves as a member of Midland County Habitat’s construction and repair and ad hoc flood recovery committees. “We’re proud to work with Habitat to help foster more affordable and sustainable housing solutions that will improve the lives of families, our communities and our world.”