GREEN COVE SPRINGS — It has been less than a year since Carolina Morrow officially grabbed the reins as executive director of Clay County Habitat for Humanity.

And she’s dreaming big for the organization's future.

“We are focusing on building houses and communities,” she said. “That’s our plan.” 

On the top of her checklist: making affordable housing a reality for everyone, including those stuck in the middle.

It’s a crisis that stretches far beyond the corners of the county. According to the National Association of Realtors, middle-income buyers in the U.S. can afford to purchase less than 23% of listings in the current market. 

Five years ago, this same group could afford to buy half of all available homes. 

“We have some families [wherein] they are in the six digits and still they can’t afford to live where they live,” Morrow said.

Firefighters, nurses, teachers — those who help make the world go around —sometimes don’t have adequate salaries, which Morrow said makes it nearly impossible for people in the workforce to qualify for low-income housing nor purchase a $500,000 to $600,000 dollar home.

Morrow said she spoke with a nurse who was frustrated with her financial plight. As someone who didn’t qualify for low-income housing but also didn’t make enough to own a home, the single mother feared that getting married would be her only option.

“That is the reality,” Morrow said. “Because even if she’s a nurse and her salary is not bad, still she can't afford the rent.” 

That’s where Clay County Habitat enters the picture. With Clay Habitat usually serving households that earn within the 30% to 80% Area Median Income (AMI) margin, Morrow said they recently expanded their reach to help those with an annual income of up to 120%.

 She said their homeowners only spend 30% of their income on their mortgage payment. 

Through a partnership with the county, the organization offers the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program, which helps with down payment and closing cost assistance. 

“That is the kind of things that we are doing,” she said. “That’s how we are helping the people.”

The SHIP program was already established prior to her arrival; however, she said she’s taking a more proactive approach in utilizing what it offers. 

In her quest to make local affordable housing a reality, Morrow said she also wants to change prior notions of what the organization is truly about. 

“Some people think that we give houses away,” she said. “That’s not the case.” 

She reiterated that applicants must have a decent or fixable credit, an income, and participate in sweat equity (added value via self-labor) hours before closing. 

“It’s just normal process, like everyone who is going to get a house. The thing is that it's affordable for them,” she said. 

As part of the program, the organization also implements financial and first-time home-buyer classes. Morrow said the organization will also be expanding their services to include new maintenance classes for applicants. Morrow said that for many, it’s their first time owning a house — and it’s important for them to understand the ins and outs of what that means. 

“We want to make it a real home ownership,” she said. 

For the future, Morrow said she also wants to provide more of a community aspect for the homeowners. She said that soon the organization will begin building behind the Clay County Habitat building, a plan consisting of 30 to 32 new homes. 

“That’s what I want to start to do. To build communities,” she said. “Because it’s needed. I mean, the people need to have that community sense and community love.” 

It’s one affordable home at a time.