Page 28 - South Mississippi Living - September, 2017

PEOPLE empowering the community
Over the past ten years, Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast has hosted more than 25,000 volunteers,
hammered at least as many nails and fielded over 5,000 calls from local families inquiring about our housing programs. While many in our community are familiar with the work of Habitat for Humanity, our most common question is still “what exactly do you do?”
In 2008, Habitat MS Gulf Coast had the privilege of hosting the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project, working alongside more than 2,000 volunteers for a week, including Habitat’s most famous volunteers, Former President Jimmy Carter, Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.
Habitat MS Gulf Coast provides opportunities for Coast individuals and families to change their own
lives, and these opportunities have expanded and evolved since our inception in 2007. Habitat has had a presence on the Gulf Coast long before Habitat MS Gulf Coast was formed. Harrison County and Jackson County had organizations that served each of their respective communities since the 1980s. Following Hurricane Katrina, the two entities determined that they would be stronger together and to tackle the amplified need for quality affordable housing, they formally merged, later incorporating Stone County into our service area.
Habitat MS Gulf Coast serves a diverse group of clients each with
a personalized need. Some clients
seek affordable housing options,
while others need intensive financial coaching to learn to better manage their resources. Others may manage their own resources fine, but simply need opportunities. With the right support and resources, Habitat believes that people can make changes in their lives, and together those individual changes can transform their community.
28 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • September 2017
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PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES
story by Lindsay Freise Avery, Director of Resource Development, Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast photos courtesy of Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast