The search will soon be on for a new executive director for the Escambia County Habitat for Humanity Chapter, as well as the chapter’s next partner family.
Alecia Glaize, who has served as the director for the last 10 years, will leave the post on Dec. 19.
“I have loved my time as part of the Habitat family,” Glaize said. “But this opportunity came up, and I decided to take advantage of it.”
Glaize will now serve as the executive director of the newly created Alabama Housing Education Center, an organization that focuses on providing health care to rural Alabama, she said. The office will be housed at the Jefferson Davis Community College Brewton campus and will service 10 counties.
Glaize said the Habitat board will meet Thursday to set out guidelines for the director search.
“I would say that they will announce the hiring process within a few days of that meeting,” Glaize said. “And I am confident they will find the right person for the chapter.”
Glaize said in an effort to find a new partner family, two family orientation meetings will be held on Mon., Dec. 8.
“These meetings are designed for anyone who wants information in partnering with Habitat to buy a home through a no interest loan,” Glaize said. “We are seeing a real problem in finding families that qualify. Applicants should remember that we don’t consider a credit score, per se. What we look at is the family’s ability to pay their bills. Our guideline is that your expenses cannot exceed 36 percent of your income.”
The meetings will be held at 4 p.m. in the Habitat office located inside the ReStore on Douglas Avenue and at 6 p.m. at Second St. Siloam Baptist Church on East Street in Brewton.
To qualify for a Habitat home through ECHFH you must:
• live or work in Escambia County, Ala.;
• Be in need of a better housing situation;
• fall in the “low income” range;
• have good credit; and,
• be willing to contribute significant volunteer time to habitat for Humanity.
 For more information, contact the Habitat office at 251.867.0095.