Paterson is our history, our home, and a central part of our future.
Paterson Habitat for Humanity changed its name to Passaic County Habitat for Humanity on January 1, 2023. This name more accurately reflects our work and will support our strategic expansion to serve Passaic County as a whole.
Our ability to build homes, communities, and hope has evolved beyond Paterson. The name change serves as a reflection of our organizations growth and expansion.
The Need
The change comes out of an extensive strategic planning process involving staff, a community of our supporters, and our Board of Directors, which led to the creation of our Fiscal Year 2021- 2025 Strategic Plan, “40 & Beyond”. As we expand our footprint, we must acknowledge that the affordable housing crisis is crippling families across all of Passaic County. For example, in Passaic County, 47.9% of renters are cost burdened paying 30% or more of their income on rent. The need for affordable places to call home is greater than it has been in a generation.
Our History
Paterson Habitat began in 1984, exclusively building homes for 36 years in the City of Paterson, where we have constructed 286 homes and served over 350 families to date. While much of our work has been confined to Paterson, our ReStore has been located in Wayne for the past ten years. Further, over the past two years, building on previous collaborative development efforts, we embarked on our first solo development project outside of Paterson, the redevelopment of the Albert Lawson Memorial VFW Post, located at 135 Summer Street in the City of Passaic. We are currently partnering with the City of Passaic on this mixed-use project which will offer a new home for the VFW Post #10117 and provide four affordable homeownership opportunities.
The Future
We will leverage the experience and expertise we have developed over the past 38 years to bring our traditional volunteer-supported homebuilding efforts, and a new home preservation solution, to all of Passaic County while continuing our work in our hometown of Paterson.
“We have decided that 2023 is the right time for a brand refresh and for our name to more accurately reflect the communities we serve, as well as acknowledge our expanding work beyond the City of Paterson; bringing safe affordable housing to the whole of Passaic County,” said CEO, Scott Millard.
Our commitment to bring people together to build homes, communities, and hope remains the same in Paterson and now reaches throughout Passaic County. Paterson is our history, our home, and a central part of our future. We look forward to partnering with all sixteen Passaic County municipalities to ensure all people in our county have access to the transformational power of safe, stable, and affordable housing. With your support, we will serve more families than ever before in Paterson and beyond.