Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna recently held dedication ceremonies for two homes that were constructed in partnerships with local technical schools. Here are the details provided by Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna:

Homebuyer Iesha Young receives her house key from Habitat Susquehanna’s Site Construction Supervisor Jim Diel during her home dedication ceremony. (Photo by Ben Carson)
Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna holds dedication ceremonies for houses built by students from the Harford Technical High School and Cecil County School of Technology
BEL AIR, MD (Mar 25, 2022) – Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna recently held home dedication ceremonies for two “Habi-Tech” homes. “Habi-Tech” homes are houses built in partnership with technical high schools and completed by Habitat volunteers. Working on these home projects — under the guidance of school instructors — teaches students across the trades programs — such as carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC — multiple aspects of home design and construction.
“We are blessed,” said Yvonne Golczewski, Executive Director of Habitat Susquehanna, “with unique partnerships with the technical high schools in Cecil and Harford Counties where students build homes for us at the schools’ campuses. (Then we move the homes to their lots in nearby communities and finish them with Habitat volunteers.) The students gain first-hand experience with a purposeful construction project that prepares them for good paying jobs when they graduate, while helping to solve what matters in the lives of low-income families in our community – the basic need for a decent, affordable place to live. The “Habi-Tech” partnerships connect the needs of students to the needs of low-income families.”
The first ceremony was held for the house built by the students of the Harford Technical High School. Harford Tech has built nine such “Habi-Tech” homes for Habitat Susquehanna, seven of which are located in Aberdeen. Homebuyer Iesha Young will live at this Edmund Street, Aberdeen home with her teenaged daughter. The house sponsors were APGFCU; Bank of America; Battelle; Harford County Government; Community Foundation of Harford County; Harford Mutual Insurance; MAHT; Rosedale Federal Savings & Loan Association; and, Wells Fargo. Additional contributors were the Civil Utility Construction, Gutter Guys, IKEA, Modular Genius, Ray Kozlowski, Vulcan Materials and Giant.
The second home dedication ceremony was held for the house built by the students of the Cecil County School of Technology. This is the third “Habi-Tech” home built by the CCST’s students in partnership with Habitat Susquehanna. Homebuyer Anthony Jones will live at this Walnut Street, Rising Sun home with his 10-year-old son. The house was sponsored by Battelle, Martin Marietta, the Cecil County Video Lottery Terminal Grant, the Cecil County School of Technology and Lowe’s. Additional contributors included the Town of Rising Sun; the Gutter Guys; American Home and Hardware; IKEA; Digging and Rigging, Inc.; the Harford County Literacy Chapter; and, St. Margaret School.
As with all Habitat homebuyers, Iesha and Anthony were required to contribute 250 “sweat equity” hours building their home or the home of another; take mandatory financial literacy classes to learn good money management skills; and, take home maintenance classes. Iesha and Anthony will be purchasing their homes through a Habitat mortgage made affordable specifically for them. Their homes are made more affordable thanks to volunteer support and sponsorships that keep construction costs low.
Approved homebuyers must go through the rigorous financial review process to ensure they are eligible candidates for Habitat Susquehanna’s Homeownership Program. The eligibility criteria include demonstrating a housing need; showing an ability to make monthly mortgage payments; and, willingness to partner with Habitat Susquehanna. Interested applicants can visit the Habitat Susquehanna website and complete an Interest Form to be invited to an upcoming orientation: https://habitatsusq.org/our-programs/homeownership.