Partnering with God and the community, our mission is to eliminate substandard housing in the Jacksonville Beaches. In addition to building quality, affordable homes for qualified families in need at no profit, we also guide our partner families through home ownership and provide educational opportunities so that they may build brighter futures for themselves and their children.

We build simple, decent homes for qualified families in need in the Jacksonville Beaches. In order to be considered for a new Habitat home, families must fill out an application and make a down payment of eight hours of labor ("sweat equity"). Our family selection committee then chooses families to live in our homes based on need, ability to pay and willingness to partner with us. Families selected must invest an additional 300 hours of labor working alongside volunteers and Habitat staff to build their homes and the homes of others. Upon completion of construction, the partner family purchases the house from Beaches at no profit and with no interest charged - the money from which is then used to build future Habitat homes.

Beyond realizing the dream of homeownership, Habitat homeowners must maintain their homes, manage their finances and provide the best available opportunities to their children. In the realm of homeowner education, we offer a comprehensive array of workshops specifically tailored to Habitat families such as homeowner finance, green living and home maintenance. But it doesn’t end there.

With the help of generous donors and supportive community partners, Beaches Habitat offers a variety of youth education programs for both our families and other at-risk youth in the community. Programs include homework help, reading and math tutoring, a school-based mentoring program, financial literacy programs and a number of other community supported experiences. Our long-term goal is to help every student become eligible for scholarships and attend college.

http://www.beacheshabitat.org