Partnership delivers affordable homes and construction training

In Harford and Cecil Counties, Habitat for Humanity has forged partnerships to create both affordable houses for residents and unique learning opportunities for students who are considering construction careers.

For years, Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna Inc. has collaborated with Harford Technical High School (HTHS) and the Cecil County School of Technology (CCST) to enable students in construction programs to gain hands-on experience by building Habitat houses. Students don’t simply volunteer some hours on a construction site. Instead, construction skills classes build entire homes from scratch to the finished drywall stage before handing the houses over to Habitat for Humanity.

A long-time supporter of Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna’s work with local schools, the BC&E Foundation is supporting that program in 2024 with a $2,500 grant.

Habitat’s program with the schools uses Habi-Tech — a system of prefabricating a house in two sections on school grounds or inside a workshop. The sections are then transported to the homesite, craned into place, married together and welded onto the home’s foundation.

The process involves students in advanced construction technologies and requires them to collaborate with industry professionals (including Habitat for Humanity’s director of construction and site superintendent). Due to advances in home design and material selections over the years, Habi-Tech also produces a highly energy efficient home.

“For students, this is a really good opportunity to see the construction world and decide if this is a career they might be interested in,” said David Burja, Director of Construction for Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna. “They get a whole overview of the process of building a house. They see what it takes to frame the walls then put plumbing and electrical into the walls and floors, then add drywall. So, they get exposure to a lot of trades.”

Burja actively collaborates with both schools, typically spending one day a week in a school to check on their progress and help address any challenges. Each high school takes two years to complete a Habi-Tech home and delivers the homes on alternate years, providing “even flow construction,” he said.

Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna began partnering with HTHS in 2004 and CCST in 2019. With the BC&E Foundation’s help, the organization will complete its 16th Habi-Tech home in 2024. It will be the 11th Harford Tech home, the 9th with green, energy efficient materials integrated into the design, “giving students an authentic experience in homebuilding,” according to Habitat’s grant application.

Rising prices for construction materials have increased the financial challenge of producing Habitat for Humanity homes and facilitating the construction projects with the two schools, Burja said.

Consequently, grants, such as the funds from the BC&E Foundation, play an important role in supporting those operations.