When Abraham Green retired from International Paper in 2004, he was looking for something to do.

His first experience with community service, he said, came when he was working at International Paper and became interested in working with United Way.

“From there, it seems to have just sprouted out — serving people,” he said. “I was working, so my life was pretty well minded out, but I had room to do other things. For some reason, I love being around people, I love helping people, and it was an opportunity to be involved.”

But he wanted something where he could do more.

“I wanted to continue working in the community, but I didn’t want to get into the bureaucracy, going to meetings,” he said. “I wanted to saw boards and nail nails. I had been following Habitat (for Humanity), and that became my interest. I loved the building part of it.”

Habitat was a perfect fit. Green has an associate’s degree in drafting and design from Utica Junior College (now Hinds Community College Utica Campus) and a bachelor’s in technical education from Alcorn State University. “My background is in building,” he said.

“Plus, my daddy worked us pretty hard growing up, tearing down and building up,” he said. “We often helped my father build or renovate houses.”

Since joining Habitat for Humanity of Warren County in 2004, Green has served as a volunteer, board member, board president and is now the organization’s executive director. He is also a member of the Vicksburg Housing Authority Board of Commissioners.

“I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” he said of Habitat. “The worst part about it is office work. I didn’t want to retire and continue working in an office doing paperwork. I wanted to get out physically doing things. It’s rewarding. You can see the benefit from it, you can see the pleasant atmosphere of the families you try to make a home for.”

Habitat, Green said, is a Christian ministry that began in 1976 to build safe, decent, affordable homes for low-income families.

“The problem was that most homeowners weren’t able to afford to purchase a home because of their income,” he said. “Everybody has a dream of owning their own home.”

Habitat has a process to help it select potential homeowner that begins with an orientation meeting to tell people about Habitat and how it works.

“If people feel they qualify, they comeback and fill out an application,” he said. “From there it goes to a family selection committee that goes over the application. They interview the homeowner, and do a site visit and try to determine who has the greatest need and do a background check.”

Once a family is selected, Habitat enters into a partnership agreement with the family in which the family agrees to work and help build the home and certify they have the income to pay for the home.

“Habitat acquires the property, we will build the home, then the homeowner purchases the home,” he said. “We go through a closing.”

Financing the home at zero interest helps keep the cost of the home down, Green said, adding volunteer labor, donated building materials and donated professional labor also reduces the price of the home, although the city’s strict building codes require Habitat to hire professional contractors for certain crafts such as electrical, plumbing and heating to comply with regulations.

“It helps both ways,” he said. “It helps Habitat to watch and make sure the work is done correctly, and the homeowner to feel reasonably comfortable to know that they have professionals doing these things and it’s up to code. It’s not just a throw up type thing.”

In 2014, he said, Habitat built it 500,000th home, adding Habitat’s mission has changed some to encourage efforts to renovate and refurbish rundown homes in neighborhoods where there are vacant homes instead of doing new construction.

Green has been a member of the Vicksburg Housing Authority since 2009. He said there are some similarities between serving on the VHA board and Habitat.

“You’re serving the people, and there we have some oversight,” he said. “We want to make sure the benefit is being received from the tenant, and each tenant has a safe environment they’re living in. Coming from a low-income family, I have seen, somewhat, both sides of it.

“Other things I have been involved in, knowing there’s been supplement from the government to help people and how strict those requirements are, I think it gives me a better feel to be fair and serve the people there.”

Green said his desire to serve others comes from his religious background.

“I’m a pretty fair churchgoer, and part of my belief is I must serve others,” he said. “This means that you can serve others, and to see the impact that it has on a person receiving a home, it’s like a double Christmas. You feel your self worth when you work with the people, and you think that’s your purpose in life. It’s a fulfilling enjoyment being able to do that.”