Though Habitat for Humanity formerly operated in Limestone County in the years before COVID, the pandemic put a momentary halt to the nationwide outreach’s local activity.

That’s all changing with the first official Habitat-sponsored home opening in the post-COVID era: Last week, a proud Limestone County family was entrusted with the keys to the first Habitat home finished under a new affiliation partnership with Huntsville-based Habitat for Humanity of the River Valley (HHRV).

Serving Limestone, Madison, and Jackson counties, HHRV hosted a May 31, dedication for its first local home along Browns Ferry Street in Athens, attended by local officials, project sponsors, churches and the Habitat volunteers who helped guide the project from concept to completion.

Home occupants Tamika and Kira might be the first Limestone County residents to benefit from the outreach’s renewed local efforts — but, amid the area’s rapid pace of growth and accompanying surge in cost for rentals and home ownership, the organization hopes they’ll only be the first of many.

“The need for affordable housing in Madison and Limestone County is great,” HHRV states at its website.

“Of the families in our area who make less than $48,000 a year, 42 percent of them pay 50 percent or more of their gross income for housing. This is a statistic that needs to change … Our goal is to continue working to reduce the need for subsidized housing by partnering with families who need help and the community who can help them.”

Habitat for Humanity relies on strong local partnerships and robust volunteer effort to make the dream of home ownership affordably achievable, and the first HHRV home involved the contribution of several Limestone County sponsors. Those include the State of Alabama’s investment through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, the Steelcase Foundation, and Publix Super Markets Charities; while additional in-kind donations of materials and services came from Persell Lumber and Mill Shop, Roof Tech Solutions, Kerwin Edelman Electrical LLC, Bailey Pest Control and Morell Engineering.

Established in 1987, Habitat for Humanity of the River Valley previously has partnered with more than 300 families in Madison County prior to extending its coverage footprint (first announced in 2022) to include Limestone County. To learn more about HHRV and find out how you can help — whether as a sponsor, volunteer, or property owner — visit the organization’s website at www.habitatrivervalley.org.