On Thursday, June 6^th, as the heat wave approached, members of the Warren County Habitat for Humanity (Warren County Habitat) community gathered on a plot of land in Harmony Township to bless the beginning of construction on what will be the Chobot home. From a volunteer, to an employee, to a future Warren County Habitat Homeowner, Michael “Scrappy” Chobot has become a rare Habitat for Humanity trifecta! A few months back, Michael and his son, Matthew and  his grandson, Dennis were officially selected to be Warren County Habitat’s next Partner Family.

Early on, Warren County Habitat for Humanity was an all volunteer affiliate (up to 2010), but as we grew it became evident that we needed to hire employees to move the affiliate forward in growth. Ever since that time the Board of Directors has made it a policy that volunteers and employees of the affiliate would have the same opportunity to become a Partner Family as any other family in Warren County. The Warren County Habitat Board of Directors understands that, as a nonprofit, they could not pay their employees a high enough wage to qualify for a mortgage from a bank or mortgage company, and wanted to be certain that our employees and volunteers were not treated differently because they were part of the Habitat family. While this could be interpreted by some as having the inside track towards a home, it was much more important for us to give everyone the opportunity for decent, affordable housing within Warren County.  Accordingly, all Habitat employees and volunteers have been eligible to apply for, and to be selected for a Habitat home for over a decade.

At Warren County Habitat for Humanity, we believe in giving a “hand up”, and not a “hand out”. Every Partner Family selected must go through a very extensive application process.  Habitat for Humanity provides interest free loans for our partner families, and as such we must comply with all federal mortgage origination regulations.  Accordingly, each applicant must go through the same application process as they would to if getting a loan from a bank: submitting income and employment verification, credit and background checks, and lots of documentation. As applications are received each partner family is given a family application number and the only person knowing the identity of each applicant is the committee chairperson.  All information is provided to committee members based on the family application number throughout the process until the final step when home visits are being arranged for those families that had been qualified through the process.  If multiple families are then deemed qualified for a loan, the final selection of the partner family is done by blind lottery using the family’s application number. This is done to ensure that there is absolutely no bias in our selection process.

Michael Chobot has done a wonderful job raising his family with the principle that hard work will be rewarded. Joining Warren County Habitat over 10 years ago, Michael was searching for a project for him and his son to get involved in that would benefit the local community. He began volunteering and never looked back. In 2022, he joined the Warren County Habitat for Humanity ReStore staff as the General Manager, and has successfully increased revenue at the store, helping to fund more build and repair projects across Warren County. He is the first employee of Warren County Habitat for Humanity to become a Partner Family since the policy was instituted nearly 15 years ago.

Michael had previously applied for a home and was not chosen. However, homeownership applicants are granted the opportunity to apply multiple times, and upon his second application, he was selected by lottery from the four application finalists to become our next Partner Family. He will be moving into his new home in Harmony Township upon its completion with both his son and his grandson.

To learn more about the work Warren County Habitat for Humanity does in your community, to volunteer, or join the conversation, visit their website at www.warrenhabitat.org. You can also stop into one of their two retail locations; the ReStore on Route 57, or The HUT on Belvidere Ave, or their Community Center at 31 Belvidere Ave. Hours and directions are available on Warren County Habitat’s website.

###

About Warren County Habitat for Humanity

Warren County Habitat for Humanity is the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity, International and has served Warren County since 1999. An accredited 501 (c)(3) charitable organization, Habitat’s mission: Seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope. You can learn more about Warren County Habitat at www.warrenhabitat.org.