Remembering U.S. President Jimmy Carter and His Contributions to Dallas Habitat for Humanity

Jimmy Carter, the longest-living U.S. president and a Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian, died Sunday. He was 100 years old.

When the former president entered hospice care almost two years ago, CandysDirt.com reached out to Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity. We were connected with Blaine Cowart, who recalled volunteering with the former president in 2014.

Cowart’s orders were clear that day more than a decade ago. When Carter arrived at the Habitat for Humanity site in Oak Cliff, the young bilingual staffer was there to keep communication flowing — and keep the 90-year-old longtime Habitat champion off the roof.

Founded in 1976 in Carter’s home state of Georgia, Habitat for Humanity aims to help low-income families build their own homes. The former president who served from 1977 to 1981 spent his retirement building Habitat homes across the country. 

“I had the incredible opportunity to work alongside President Carter for the days he was here in Dallas,” Cowart told CandysDirt.com. “It was phenomenal to see his humanitarian work in action. It was unseasonably warm, over 100 degrees. He put his bandana on and was out there using a saw. He built the front porch railing. This was not a photo opp. They told me if there was work to be done vertically, he was going to try to do it. He’s just the epitome of serving humbly.” 

At the time of the interview, Blaine Cowart was serving as the nonprofit’s vice president of homeowner services. Cowart now works as a manager of customer success at the nonprofit Provisio Partners.

When reached for comment Sunday afternoon, Dallas Area Habitat CEO Ashley Brundage said the staff and families of the local nonprofit “celebrate and remember President Jimmy Carter today, for the indelible mark he left on thousands of lives over the last 40-plus years through his work with Habitat for Humanity.“

“Ten years ago last fall, a few days after his 90th birthday, President Carter and his wife Rosalynn visited Dallas to work alongside hundreds of volunteers and families to build 30 homes and renovate 20 others in the East Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas,” Brundage added. “We will honor him today and every day by continuing his legacy of strengthening our communities by providing affordable homeownership opportunities for those who need it most. We all thank you, President Carter, for your tireless work with Habitat for Humanity.”

Rosalynn Carter died Nov. 19, 2023, at age 96.

‘He’s a Diplomat’

Cowart, the young woman who swung a hammer next to Carter back in 2014 recalled the experience to CandysDirt.com. 

“I got to see how he built a relationship with homeowners. He’s not fluent in Spanish, but he’s a diplomat,” Cowart said. “He knew a few key phrases.”

Carter and his wife Rosalynn assisted that week building homes in Fort Worth with Trinity Habitat for Humanity, then assisted the Dallas chapter with 30 new builds in Oak Cliff Gardens. 

“He met all of the families and got to know all 30,” Cowart recalled. “He spent the most time with one particular homeowner at one particular address. That homeowner, Ms. Melendez, is Spanish-speaking.”

That opened the opportunity for the Spanish-speaking Cowart to guide communication between Carter and Melendez, while also trying to keep the former president off the roof.

Melendez still lives in that Oak Cliff home behind the Veterans Administration Health Care System, Cowart said. 

Affordable Housing Crisis

It’s clear that Cowart and almost everybody who works for Habitat Humanity has a passion not just for connecting people with housing, but also for providing economic mobility. 

They talk a lot about sweat equity — homeowners earn down-payment assistance by building their own houses — and offering a “hand up rather than a handout.” Habitat Dallas built about 25 homes in West Dallas in 2023.

There are a lot of myths to debunk, Cowart explained. Many potential homebuyers don’t go the Habitat route because they think they make too much money. On the flip side, some people think the homes are given away for free or don’t involve a mortgage.

Monthly mortgage payments for a $200,000 Habitat home could be roughly around $1,000 a month, inclusive of taxes and insurance. 

“To be able to break into home ownership, the No. 1 barrier, particularly for first-time buyers in communities of color, is the down payment,” Cowart said. “To be able to overcome that barrier is really critical, and Habitat does that by not requiring a down payment. We require sweat equity in lieu of a down payment.” 

The 2014 visit from a popular former president drew attention to the nonprofit and raised awareness about what it actually does, officials said. 

For example, Habitat’s goal is to put people in affordable housing, even if it’s not through one of its programs. 

Dallas Habitat has a sub-affiliate, a separate 501c3 called Dallas Neighborhood Alliance, for people who are overqualified for Habitat’s traditional program. At the time of our February 2023 interview with Cowart, DNA was building affordable workforce housing in Mabank, with homes priced between $240,000 and $260,000. 

They don’t have a lengthy waiting list, because they don’t want people to get stuck in the system. 

“We are very careful about keeping people in a holding pattern,” Cowart said. “That might hold them back from pursuing homeownership. We are very intentional about not creating an artificial demand. People will wait, and we don’t want people waiting.” 

Dallas Habitat isn’t going to build its way out of an affordable housing crisis, Cowart added, but they do want to draw attention to the homeownership opportunities they provide.

“The opportunity to bring someone like President Carter to Dallas to highlight Habitat’s mission did a couple of things,” Cowart said. “It always sheds light on the affordable housing crisis. Make no mistake, that existed in 2014. Being able to shed light on the great need for affordable housing not only by Dallas Habitat but by all the stakeholders is the most important opportunity that project provided. Subsequent to that, it helps people understand what the mission serves to accomplish for our community.”