BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Nearly a year after tornadoes ripped through parts of Kentucky, killing 80 people, Habitat for Humanity has been helping to rebuild homes for residents in Bowling Green who lost them in the storm.
But due to supply chain shortages, those residents cannot settle into their homes as soon as they would have liked.
Rodney Goodman, the executive director of the Bowling Green Habitat for Humanity, recently showed members of the Red Cross the houses that the group is building as part of a recovery effort after the Dec. 2021 tornadoes. Habitat for Humanity builds affordable, safe homes for families, who can then buy the properties at 0% interest.
The nonprofit also provides education on how to be self-sufficient homeowners.
“Our mission is we build strength, stability, self-reliance, shelter. So shelter’s the thing everybody comes and sees – the house, but our goal is to build a community,” Goodman said.
Originally, the nonprofit’s goal was to build 10 houses in 10 weeks to get families displaced by the storm into permanent homes. The group ordered items such as HVAC equipment, cabinets, doors and windows. However, Goodman and his crew could see challenges coming.
“We did a lot of work on the front end, ordering stuff, so we would not run into that very early on.”
Because of the pace of the construction industry, Goodman said, it was difficult to hire a contractor. After losing one contractor, it took a month to find another, setting them back from their initial goal.
“And that’s just a result of the housing industry in itself. It’s booming, trying to keep up with this demand that we’re facing,” Goodman said.
People from the community and across the country have stepped up to put in thousands of hours of volunteer work. And because of their efforts, Goodman expects all the houses to be completed in four to five months.
Habitat for Humanity of Bowling Green, Warren County is still accepting volunteers to help with their rebuilding efforts until homes are complete. For more information, click here.