When Bernadette Kelliher took over the Augusta/CSRA Habitat for Humanity in February 2023, she wanted to increase the number of homes her organization was building in the Augusta area.
At the time, volunteers were building one house a year, but she wanted to build 10 houses.
“We were doing really well. We were on track to do seven or eight, and then the hurricane hit and we went into repair mode,” she said.
But building 10 homes a year still isn’t enough, and Kelliher has spent the last three years visiting other Habitats in the country to learn from their best practices as well as their pitfalls to see what it would take to expand the effort locally.
The Augusta organization stands on the brink of a major push to make a significant impact to construct more affordable homes. She has set a high goal for the coming years.
“Fifty homes a year in five years,” she said.
That might seem like quite a jump from not even 10 a year, “but I think we can do it,” she said.
While gathering information on how other Habitat for Humanity chapters have increased their output, she’s also been working to bolster the organization’s financial resources by receiving grants and government allocations. Also, the third annual Build The Band which is planned for June 27 at the Miller Theater has generated funds.
Habitat was recently awarded $1,850,000 in FY2026 Congressionally Directed Spending to build 12 new affordable homes in Augusta’s historic Turpin Hill neighborhood. The federal funding, secured with the support of Georgia’s U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, will expand housing opportunities for working families and revitalize one of Augusta’s oldest communities.
Kelliher said she doesn’t have a timeline yet on when those funds will make it to the organization or when construction can begin on those homes, but that isn’t slowing her or Habitat down.
She’s also worked to forge better relationships with the City of Augusta and the Augusta Land Bank Authority.
As Augusta’s Habitat heads toward constructing 50 homes a year, Kelliher knows she can’t do that without additional people.
“We plan to be at a pretty big staff in the next two to three years. We’re looking at new office space. A new day is coming,” she said.
Earlier in March, the organization brought on McKenzie Beech as the Vice President of Mission and Community Impact, and four or five additional employees will be hired in the coming months.
Beech formerly worked for John Deere as operations supervisor, and he’s excited to make the move to the non-profit arena.
He knew there was something special for him in Augusta when he relocated from the Atlanta area in 2018. He recalled telling his girlfriend, now wife, “I want to be part of this community and have a lasting impact on it,’ he said.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named Augusta Magazine’s best local writer in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
