Zari Fleming and Ja'Bron Hanna have a house for themselves and their two children. On Saturday they celebrated becoming first-generation homeowners through Habitat for Humanity.
Fleming, a Broward County Clerk of Courts supervisor, put the change in plain terms to WSVN: "going from all sleeping in one bedroom to now we're gonna have a four bedroom home." Almost 300 guests gathered Saturday morning at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale. She also said she was grateful to Habitat and the churches that backed the build.
One Household, Four Bedrooms
The celebration was framed as an honor for local public-sector workers. Fleming's job sits in the Broward County Clerk of Courts. The house they are moving into is a four-bedroom, a sharp step up from a single shared bedroom for the parents and two children.
WSVN reported that the Apostles Build 2026 partnership made the homeownership possible. The reporting does not spell out this family's mortgage, price, interest rate or eligibility rules, so Saturday's news is the keys and the bedrooms, not the loan terms.
Churches, Labor And About $300,000
WSVN counted 17 local churches in Apostles Build 2026. Those churches contributed volunteer labor and helped fund roughly $300,000 in construction costs.
Good News put the partnership at 18 churches helping fund and build a home in Fort Lauderdale, and described the same approximate construction figure: about $300,000, covered through church money and volunteer time. The two accounts do not agree on the head count.
Habitat for Humanity of Broward's own Apostles Build page, in language dated August 26, 2025, describes the program as a partnership with twelve churches that come together to fund and build affordable homes. That is the standing description of the partnership, not a published roster for the 2026 build. On the build itself, Habitat Broward says church volunteers work alongside Habitat staff, experienced construction leaders and the future homeowners.
From A February Groundbreaking To Saturday Shifts
Good News reported that Habitat Broward gathered faith leaders on February 19 to mark the Apostles Build 2026 groundbreaking. Build days were scheduled for Saturdays from April through September.
The same report placed the planned home at 2711 NW 9th Court in Fort Lauderdale. That address was described as the planned site. It has not been separately confirmed as the finished house's address.
Apostles Build's role, as Good News described it, also includes in-kind support for Habitat Broward's Homeowner Education Classes and Youth Empowerment Program. The construction budget and the volunteer Saturdays were only part of what the churches were asked to carry.
A Separate Eight-Home Build In North Lauderdale
This Fort Lauderdale celebration sits beside an earlier Habitat Broward effort with a different partner mix. WSVN reported that Habitat for Humanity of Broward County and local business partners helped eight families become homeowners after eight homes were completed in North Lauderdale.
Those families had to help build the homes, finish educational programs and save for a down payment. The Goodwill family put in 300 hours of sweat equity. Nicole Goodwill's family owns its new home interest-free. City Manager Michael Sargis said North Lauderdale donated the land and almost $400,000 for that project.
Those are that project's terms. They are not a description of Fleming and Hanna's ownership. What the two efforts share is the Habitat pattern of pairing outside money and labor with families who take part in the build.
One House In A Crowded Housing Picture
In May 2025, the Sun Sentinel described hundreds of affordable-housing units in Broward as under construction or in development. A single four-bedroom Habitat house does not change that scale. It does change the sleeping arrangements for one Clerk of Courts supervisor, her partner and their two children.
The family now has a house to move into. The church count behind Apostles Build 2026 is still told two ways, 17 or 18, against a program page that still speaks of twelve. The construction figure both news accounts used is the same: about $300,000, raised and built with congregational money and Saturday labor.
