[Photo of Mikailah Peoples and family provided by Habitat for Humanity of NW Metro Atlanta]

By Mark Woolsey

Habitat for Humanity of NW Metro Atlanta is off and running on its third-ever “Women Build” campaign with a ceremonial groundbreaking and land dedication in Marietta this past week.

Thursday’s event brought volunteers, program sponsors, and community leaders together, along with the beneficiary of the latest Habitat project, Mikailah Peoples, her son Ayden, and her mother. They’ll take part in the build, say Habitat officials.

With women volunteers raising hammers and gripping saws, “I like to say that Women Build is not excluding men but empowering women,” says Elisha Johnson, Mission Advancement Officer for the NW metro organization, noting that 78 percent of the builds they’ve worked on there since 2019 have involved female-headed households.

Habitat officials add that the program enables women to project-lead, fund and construct homes in partnership with hardworking families.

Johnson says after preliminary work, the walls are expected to go up Oct. 11, with the home almost completely finished the weekend before Thanksgiving.

A dedication of the home is set for Dec. 16, and Peeples and her mother, Lisa, are set to close on it after the first of the year, assuming what Johnson calls an “affordable” mortgage.

“It’s all part of an initiative to raise awareness of the need for affordable housing in Cobb County,” she says.

Peeples works as a Police Service Representative for the Marietta Police Department. The city of Marietta donated the land for the home.