Community Toolbox and Habitat for Humanity Join Forces

Community Toolbox (CTB) in Portsmouth will become a program of Southeast New Hampshire Habitat for Humanity (SENH Habitat).

CTB and SENH Habitat are dedicated to providing housing resources and assistance to families’ in-need to ensure people have safe, healthy, and affordable homes. This collaboration will allow for improved advocacy and the ability to serve more families, whose income falls within the 30%-60% range of thearea median.

Meg Rotondo, co-founder of CTB, noted that several of the original founders and board members of CTB were volunteers with SENH Habitat prior to spinning off in 2013 to create their own non-profit focused around a Fix-it program. Since that time, they have helped over 300 families through their Fix-It program which provides critical home repairs such as building outdoor ramps for wheelchairs, installing weatherstripping for heat protection in the winter, implementing modifications for handicap accessibility, and so much more.

Multiple local agencies such as Community Action Partnership and Society of St. Vincent de Paul provide referrals and vet potential clients’ needs and eligibility for program participation. Marcie Bergan, Executive Director of SENH Habitat, said that our mission of building affordable housing has grown to include assistance for veterans and for seniors aging in place, receiving referrals from the VA and other community partners. “Collaboration is key! We have started expanding services beyond building new homes and now offer a Housing Plus program”, shared Bergan.

Bergan and Rotondo noted that SENH Habitat and CTB have always worked in partnership, referring clients to each other whenever possible, and that by officially combining efforts we will be able to serve far more people here in the Granite State. Rotondo added “It is very exciting to see the two organizations come full circle as they rejoin forces.”