On March 24, U.S. Secretary Ben Carson and Florida Governor Rick Scott joined Habitat for Humanity International CEO Jonathan Reckford and Habitat Broward to celebrate A Rick Case Habitat Community, scheduled to start home construction in early 2018. The event also marked the beginning of the largest community Habitat Broward will build to serve 77 Broward County families in need of safe, affordable homes.

Ben Carson at Habitat event

Secretary Carson stressed the need to forge public and private partnerships like Habitat Broward is doing, uniting individuals and corporations, Broward County government, schools, the sheriff’s office and the City of Pompano Beach around the common goal to provide affordable housing for our working families. “What’s truly delightful here is that you have so many people coming together to create something that works,” Carson said.

“We learned about HUD priorities from Secretary Carson, and he learned about our urgent need for affordable housing from our Habitat team,” stated Nancy Robin, CEO and Executive Director. “Secretary Carson reinforced Habitat’s vision of a world where everyone has a safe place to call home.”

More than 200 invited guests attended the event at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Pompano Beach. Joining them were guest speakers Rita and Rick Case, Governor Rick Scott, former U.S. Senator George LeMieux, Sheriff Scott Israel and Superintendent of Broward County Schools Robert Runcie.

This extraordinary event was one of the first stops on Secretary Ben Carson’s listening tour in preparation for his role at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Habitat Broward sees its role to elevate the conversation on affordable housing as critical. Broward County is the most cost-burdened housing market in the nation and the gap between earnings and housing continues to widen.

That is why the new Rick Case Habitat Community, sitting on 9 acres in Pompano Beach, is such an historic initiative. Seventy-seven Broward County families’ lives will be transformed as their opportunities to enjoy better education and health care, financial stability, a sense of community and belonging and safer, happier futures are made possible through homeownership.

For more information on how you can be a partner in A Rick Case Habitat Community, please contact Brian Jones at (954) 396-3030 x228.