Habitat for Humanity - Affordable Housing for All
"Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry. HFHI seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. Habitat invites people from all walks of life to work together in partnership to help build houses with families in need.Habitat has built almost 80,000 houses around the world, providing some 400,000 people in more than 2,000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter. HFHI was founded in 1976 by Millard Fuller with his wife, Linda."
To learn more about Habitat for Humanity and the affiliates, Bob visited a planned community, Valley of the Sun, in Phoenix, Arizona, to talk with the local affiliate President and CEO Chris Wolf. In this rapidly growing area of the country there is a need for affordable housing on a large scale.
Valley of the Sun has 104 houses already constructed, with another 10 under various stages of construction. There are several styles to choose from including the classic adobe and some other modern designs. All the yards in this community are designed with desert vegetation to conserve water and the environment, and the residents benefit from a common park area with swings, play courts, and a picnic pavilion.
Through volunteer labor and tax-deductible donations of money and materials, Habitat builds and rehabilitate simple, decent houses with the help of the homeowner (partner) families. Volunteers enter the community to find families in need of affordable housing and then the applicants go through an extensive screening process. The affiliates family selection committee chooses homeowners based on their level of need, their willingness to become partners in the program, and their ability to repay the no-interest loan. Neither race nor religion is a factor in choosing the families who receive Habitat houses.
Habitat is not a give-away program. In addition to a down payment and the monthly mortgage payments, home owners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor-"Sweat Equity"- into building their Habitat house and the houses of others. Included in the Sweat Equity program are home maintenance classes and home budget training to help new homeowners get the most out of their new homes.
Throughout the world, the cost of houses varies from as little as $700 in some developing countries to an average of $42,500 in the United States. Habitat houses are affordable for low-income families because there is no profit included in the sale price and no interest charged on the mortgage. Mortgage length varies from 7 to 30 years.
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