Home ownership and a couple of cold ones. The two may go together for some, but in some cases, one may lead to the other.

“Syracuse Habitat for Humanity has a vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live,” said executive director Sarah Bruce.

If you're not familiar with Habitat for Humanity, it's an international organization that helps build and restore homes as part of a home ownership program.

“We work with people who make less than 60% HUD median income based on their family size and enable them to get an affordable mortgage based on their income," said Bruce.

Bruce and the Syracuse office are in full swing and a year long brews for builds campaign.

“We are excited to find a way to partner with local breweries and other local businesses to help fundraise for our local builds," said Bruce.

A passport leads you to 17 local businesses offering a free product for the sake of helping the cause and promotion. Among them is co-owner Brian Berry and Underground Beer Lab, they hope that a year into their tap room being open — this will help out all parties involved.

“Habitat for Humanity is a great organization and we're really proud to be part of it,” he said. “I think that people look at it as a great economic opportunity, but then they may find something that they really like and then hopefully they'll come back. So it's a win for everyone.”

And just because it's brews for bill doesn't mean it has to be alcoholic. Just ask Michelle Cruse, the owner of the Cracked Bean Roastery. They have been involved with the program each year it’s run since the beginning after another brewery brought her in.

“They asked if we would be interested in offering a non alcoholic beverage. We started the passport program in 2018,” said Cruse. “It's all about local community supporting local individuals.”

That takes us right down the road showing what this support actually translates to, where two single family homes are being renovated side by side in the Eastwood community.

“It all adds up,” Bruce said walking through a mostly finished house. “Clearly $30 doesn't build the house, but $30 times 1000 passwords $30,000 goes a long way towards helping us in our building goals.

Getting into an affordable home ownership position is just half the battle. That's where habitat helps families with resources to keep them in these homes.

“All of our homeowner families are required to take first time homeownership training through home headquarters here in Syracuse, which sets them up to make sure they know everything they need to know before purchasing their house,” said Bruce.

All of these different projects enable habitat to help families from different income levels.

“So whether it's buying a passport for $30 and going in supporting our local community breweries or donating an hour, five hours 10 hours of your time to help us on a build site or a restore,” said Bruce. “We really can't do it without the community and our community members are what enabled us to help so many people find a place that they can call home.”

Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has been able to help more than 29-million families and that’s the last official update, pre-pandemic. As things get closer to normal, the Syracuse office and others across the state are looking forward to building and restoration projects getting back in full swing.