Brandon Price, CEO of the Fayetteville area Habitat for Humanity, is passionate about making sure everyone has safe, affordable housing. The mission is more than a job for him; it comes from a place of personal experience.
“I understand [that] need,” he shared, reflecting on his youth spent living in a trailer near Seagrove, NC, “We had issues we couldn’t address because we just had limited resources.”
He said that he has seen tenants who are reluctant to ask landlords for repairs because they fear they’ll see their rent increase. Additionally, many people don’t know how to do simple repairs themselves, whether they rent or own.
“When you come from that, and you see how people live, you understand how, if people could have safe, affordable housing, it might change theirs and their children’s lives,” Price observed. He described a housing crisis in the Fayetteville area that leaves “many families living in what we call ‘substandard’ housing.” With the average new home priced above $300,000, few, if any, homes available under $150,000, a dwindling workforce and rising material costs, Price says families are feeling the impact.
“The demand is high and the resources are few. They're just not there, and so you end up waiting, you know, two and three times as long trying to get a repair done. Or homes are taking two and three times the time that it would usually take for them to be completed, because we just simply don't have enough people who know what they're doing to provide a quality product for families.”
This impact is felt among renters and homeowners alike, according to Price, “It's going to cost [renters and homeowners] two and three times what it would typically cost to make some of these simple, routine repairs.”
The Fayetteville area Habitat for Humanity is on a mission to address that problem by teaching practical skills that will equip the next generation of renters, homeowners, and builders to not only do their own small repairs but also consider careers in trades like construction.
Their 2nd annual Construction Camp kicks off July 28 through Aug. 1 this year, and will introduce participants to hands-on experiences in electrical, framing, plumbing, and drywall. Taught by licensed tradesmen and sponsored by dozens of community organizations, the camp is poised to “build the future with the future,” according to the Fayetteville area Habitat for Humanity website.
It’s a highly sought-after and 100% free event that Price said generated significant interest last year — so much interest that they had to delete the Facebook post announcing the 2024 Construction Camp. The post was shared over 800 times, and the Habitat received interest from students and families in Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee and South Carolina.
Since then, they’ve narrowed their service area to Cumberland, Bladen, and Sampson counties, focusing on recent high school graduates, rising seniors and rising juniors. He said they’ve continued receiving interest year-round, and Construction Camp 2025 was booked to its 35-student capacity in no time.
Last year, they capped capacity at 25 students and dedicated 4 days to the camp. This year, they’ve increased the capacity by 10 students and added an extra day for a total 5-day camp.
Each day will find students learning new skills at the host location, Sweet Valley Ranch.
Day 1: Students will become familiar with tools and start a framing project for Sweet Valley Ranch that will be completed throughout the camp and allow students to give back to their host. “We’re going to go through each of those tools, teach them the appropriate names and functions and teach them how to use them safely,” said Price.
Day 2: Students will learn about small repairs. They’ll change and install doorknobs and deadbolts, hang drywall, and repair holes in walls.
Day 3: Students will dive into plumbing projects. Price shared, “We're going to teach them how to replace the toilet from the hole in the floor, teach them how to repair and replace the plumbing underneath their kitchen or bathroom sinks, and to change out faucets, all under the instruction of a licensed plumber.”
Day 4: Students will learn how to perform electrical tasks such as changing light switches and repairing or replacing ceiling fans. Price says safety is the camp’s number one priority, and students will learn how to safely do repairs as they would in the real world.
Day 5: Students will finish their framing project for Sweet Valley Ranch and participate in a graduation ceremony.
After graduation, students will leave with a full toolset, courtesy of Lowe’s, and a newfound sense of confidence in their abilities.
Price says he hopes exposure to the trades could encourage them to consider career paths beyond traditional options.
“You can become really good at using your hands and make a really good living to take care of you and your family in the trades. I want this work to be respected, and I want the students to know that they can make a very respectable living choosing the trades and whether they go to college or not.”
Price said the camp wouldn’t be possible without the Fayetteville area Habitat for Humanity staff and their 26 community partners that include local businesses, schools, churches and nonprofits.
“We've worked really, really hard to produce the camp. It takes a lot of man-hours and a lot of manpower, and our team has really put a lot of sweat into making sure that these kids get a high-quality camp,” he shared.
He added that the Fayetteville area Habitat for Humanity’s mission starts with faith and translates into meeting practical needs within the community.
“We're trying to spread the love of Christ. We're a Christian organization,” he explained. “You don't have to be a believer to participate in the camp or to receive the services that we provide the community, but Christ is the cornerstone from which we build, and we appreciate every single one of our community partners, our sponsors, and everyone who's continuing to believe to lift these students up, to lift up Habitat and our efforts to provide the best, most affordable, safest housing in our community.”