Habitat for Humanity's 14th Women Build Brings 700 Volunteers to West Pullman This October — Nearly 50 Homes and Counting
By Socialhood News · West Pullman ·
West Pullman is about to get a lot busier with hard hats and hammers. Habitat for Humanity Chicago launched its 14th annual Women Build event on Thursday, October 1, bringing the organization's signature women-led construction drive back to the Far South Side neighborhood where it has been showing up — and building — for nearly a decade and a half.
The scale of this year's effort is striking: over the course of October, around 700 women will come out and build several townhomes in West Pullman. That volunteer army, mobilized across the full month, represents the kind of sustained, hands-on community investment that rarely gets the attention it deserves. Habitat for Humanity Chicago is celebrating its 14th Women Build in West Pullman, with the goal of supporting women through their homeownership journey.
The numbers behind Women Build tell a powerful story all on their own. "We've been here 14 years now. We've done just short of 50 homes in the neighborhood," said Jennifer Parks, Habitat for Humanity Chicago's executive director. That cumulative total — nearly 50 homes built over 14 years of Women Build events alone — represents a tangible, block-by-block transformation of West Pullman's housing stock, delivered in large part by thousands of volunteer women who showed up, picked up tools, and built something real.
The townhomes going up this October are part of Habitat Chicago's largest-ever West Pullman development: a twenty-townhome project in the heart of the West Pullman neighborhood — the organization's biggest real estate undertaking to date. Located across the street from the future 12-acre Morgan Park Commons, these new two-story townhomes feature individual garages, two community green spaces, and three- and four-bedroom floor plans. For families navigating West Pullman's housing market — where the median household income sits at $33,898 — these affordable, quality homes aren't just a place to live. They're a foundation for generational stability.
21st Ward Alderman Ronnie Mosley has said of the development: "This development by Habitat for Humanity Chicago is about building dreams, fostering stability, and continuing to create opportunities for homeownership, which has always been the fabric of this ward." That framing matters. West Pullman has long been a neighborhood of homeowners, of people with roots — and every new Habitat townhome is an invitation for another family to put down roots of their own.
"We are proud to deepen our investment in West Pullman through this 20-unit townhome project," Parks has stated. "West Pullman has many incredible assets on which to build, and inviting 20 new homebuyers to invest in this community alongside other long-tenured homeowners creates a lasting impact both at an individual and neighborhood level."
Women Build is designed to be exactly what its name suggests: a space where women take the lead — as volunteers, as future homeowners, and as community builders. The event draws participants from across the Chicago region, many of whom have never held a power tool, alongside seasoned builders and Habitat staff who guide the work. For first-time volunteers, it's often a transformative experience. For West Pullman residents watching new homes rise on their blocks, it's proof that investment in the Far South Side is real, ongoing, and happening right now.
With Women Build running throughout October, there is still time to get involved. Residents and Chicagoans interested in volunteering — or in learning more about Habitat Chicago's affordable homeownership program in West Pullman — can visit habitatchicago.org for volunteer sign-up information, upcoming build dates, and details on how to apply for a Habitat home. For ward-level updates on housing and development in West Pullman, follow 21st Ward Alderman Ronnie Mosley's office at ward21chicago.com. October is the month to show up — hammer in hand — for the Far South Side.
Sources:
1. https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/habitat-for-humanity-holding-14th-women-build-event-in-west-pullman/
2. https://www.habitatchicago.org/townhome-groundbreaking