Award-winning HGTV Producer Kyra Epps Returns Home to Join Forces with Habitat for Humanity Chicago as their Community Impact Partner

Chicago native and award-winning television producer Kyra Epps is on a mission to empower fellow Chicagoans toward homeownership and family legacy. 

Best known for her work on HGTV’s highest streamed show "Buying Back The Block," Kyra and her husband comedian/actor Mike Epps worked together to rebuild Mike’s childhood community. Kyra commented on the experience, saying, “The impact from the show was unbelievable. So many people tell us how much it inspired them to rebuild their community.”

The impact also sparked Kyra’s passion to do the same in her hometown of Chicago. However, this time around, Kyra is partnering with an organization who is heavily involved in the community and truly making a difference, Habitat for Humanity Chicago. Kyra aims to use her platform to engage the community and teach people how to design the interiors of their own homes, fostering a sense of pride and ownership, with a desire to give back to her community and a profound belief that everyone deserves to live in a beautiful home that enhances self-esteem.  

As a Community Impact Partner, Kyra will lead a workshop at Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore Chicago South grand opening and host a 2024 Women Build Team in October. Kyra and nine of her friends will join five other teams of women on a build site in Greater Grand Crossing to advance the construction of four single-family homes. Women Build is an annual event to bring women together to build homes and raise awareness of the gendered barriers. 

“As a Chicago native, it's incredibly important to me to give back to my community. I want to show people that they have the power to create spaces that reflect their identity and values," says Kyra Epps. 

Kyra made her debut with Habitat for Humanity Chicago and ReStore Chicago staff during the Bud Billiken parade on August 10, 2024, to celebrate this back-to-school time and promote the imminent opening of Habitat Chicago’s newest ReStore location in Chicago Lawn. 

“We’re excited to welcome Kyra as our Community Impact Partner,” said Habitat Chicago Executive Director Jennifer Parks. “Our new partnership offers a wonderful opportunity to highlight the incredible work being done in Chicago—a city that means so much to both Kyra and us at Habitat Chicago—as well as bring awareness to the unique needs and assets of this great city.”