Building a Community, One Home at a Time

Bernardo Mazzucco prepares lumber for framing the Volunteer House ©Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County

In May 2024, a local HomeVestors franchise headed by Bernardo Mazzucco started framing a house in Holden Heights. It’s one of the two dozen homes Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County plans to build in Central Florida this year.

At first glance, the home appears unassuming. But it’s the lifeblood of the community. 

The house is named the Volunteer House because of the many volunteers who had a hand in putting in flooring, installing cabinetry, lending financial support and countless other tasks. 

For Mazzucco, it’s even more—the chance to instill a sense of civic responsibility in his children. 

“I’m trying to teach my kids that doing something and reducing the gap between those who cannot afford something and those who can is so important,” says Mazzucco, “that every single time we have the opportunity to do something for somebody, we must.”

Mazzucco brought his family to the United States in 2018 when the political and economic climate in his native Venezuela became untenable. The real estate investor had to leave a thriving business with only his liquid savings and start from scratch in Orlando. He found a way up with HomeVestors and became a franchisee in 2020. 

Volunteer House ©Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County

As ad council president, Mazzucco coordinated HomeVestors’ volunteers, not only bringing his office to the build but also franchisees from throughout Central Florida. “It was a great opportunity to show our local community that we are engaged, not only doing business,” says Mazzucco. “We did the job with our own hands. It was truly fulfilling.” 

 “The Volunteer House is part of our mission because we have so many individuals, companies and organizations that want to volunteer to support the work that we do,” says Catherine Steck McManus, president & CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County. “We want to assure anyone who wants to help our mission and the impact that we make that there’s a way that everyone can feel involved and get involved. And what’s more fun than helping to build a house?”

Public awareness is key to helping the community understand the housing crisis, says McManus. In addition to the Volunteer House, the Face the Housing Crisis campaign and the resulting Cornerstone Housing Initiative approach housing from a systems process, in an effort to provide multiple solutions. 

Nine out of 10 single wage-earners making the median wage in healthcare, hospitality or education, she says, can’t afford the median price of an entry-level home in Central Florida.

Catherine Steck McManus speaks at the Volunteer House kickoff

“The public awareness campaign was to help the community understand who needs housing affordability. It’s not always who you think it is,” says McManus. “Along with other community leaders and advocates, we’re trying to determine what levers are broken. There are so many facets to housing that is not just building a new house. How can we preserve homes and people who are already in their homes, so that they can stay in their homes?”

While it’s not a process that can be solved overnight, anyone can get involved. McManus encourages the public to get engaged and get involved by visiting facethehousingcrisis.org.

In 2019, McManus was appointed to the Housing for All Workgroup by Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings. The resulting 10-year action plan addresses housing affordability and supply by removing regulatory barriers, creating new financial resources, targeting areas of access and opportunity and engaging the community and the industry. 

“We’re looking at the housing system in a holistic way,” says McManus. Short-term solutions include a roof-replacement program, so low-income homeowners who live in their house can get the necessary improvement to keep their dwelling habitable and stay up to date on homeowner’s insurance. Another key is education—Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County has opened its curriculum to the public who want to learn about disaster preparedness, estate planning, budgeting and financial literacy. 

“We’re trying to look at every facet of home readiness, whether that’s rental or home ownership, and how can we support our community in becoming more informed and more engaged,” says McManus. 

“When people are unhoused, or precariously housed, they aren’t able to focus on other things that make them better,” says McManus. “Being able to see the doctor. Taking that extra certificate class so that they could possibly increase their hourly wage. They can’t take their child to childcare because it is unaffordable. If we can assure that people are housed affordably within their budgets, they are able then to get the best out of their lives.”

To volunteer, apply for a home or sign up for a HabitatU class, visit habitatorlando.org