Creative approaches for a difficult-to-serve niche
There are currently 36 locally based Habitat affiliates
building in Washington State. Each affiliate has a different
approach to making the Habitat “sweat equity” model work to meet
the needs of their community. The range of creative applications
of this self-help model in our state is exciting. Some
affiliates depend solely on local volunteers; some apply a “work
camp” model with volunteers coming in to work from across the
state, region, and world. Many are now building townhouses and
multiplexes to keep costs down. Several are working in
partnership with community land trusts (CLTs) or applying their
own land-held-in-trust model. A few affiliates are working with
their local housing authorities to access affordable land and
infrastructure; other affiliates partner with other nonprofits
in accessing land. Many are forging new efforts in sustainable
building practices.
Last month, COMMISSION EMPLOYEES
volunteered in Bremerton for a day on a Habitat for Humanity of
Kitsap County home.
What they all hold in common is their dedication to the Habitat
International model: Serving qualifying families who have the
greatest need for decent housing—as Habitat says, not with a
handout but with a hand up.
Habitat holds a special place at the affordable housing table,
Maureen Howard explains: “Homeownership for households who are
between 25% and 60% of the area median income (AMI) is a very
special and difficult-to-serve niche. We can only do it because
of the incredible support that we get from the community.”
SHERRY McCLANE stands in front of her
rehabilitated home in Federal Way’s Westway neighborhood
alongside Site Manager MIKE TAGGERT.
Seattle/South King County Habitat’s pilot project, 21st Century
Housing Challenge, has built two houses and is renovating and
repairing 36 homes in Westway as part of an ambitious
neighborhood renewal project.
A 0% mortgage. A 0% downpayment. And mortgage payments that are
capped at 30% of a family’s income. That is setting a very high
bar to achieve for very low-income families. “That’s our place,”
says Maureen. “And other nonprofit housing organizations
recognize that and it allows us to work together well.”
Habitat International: A successful model since 1976
I can’t think of any homeownership model that serves the working
poor more effectively than Habitat for Humanity. It is highly
complex in that it requires so many different contributions from
so many. This includes of course the sweat equity poured in by
the future homeowners themselves, but that’s just the beginning.
Labor, capital, loan instruments, donated supplies, government
grants, and pro bono expertise are built into the mix by future
homeowners, volunteers, paid staff, corporate and nonprofit
sponsors, HUD, state and local governments, service agencies,
community partners: the list is endless. And that’s the beauty
of it, because despite this complexity, Habitat works.
As in any endeavor, success breeds success. Habitat is certainly
helped by its international profile, and its prominent support
from a former U.S. president. This has aided the organization in
getting major international attention and backing from
corporations like Lowe’s, Whirlpool, and Home Depot, and a raft
of sponsorships for local Habitat organizations.
Even with all this support, however, it’s always a challenge.
Building and financing even one home for a family earning 25% to
50% of AMI is, quite simply, daunting. The glue that holds this
together is the collective desire of Habitat supporters that
this family will be enabled to have a better life, thanks to
their ability to secure a stable, decent home that they can
afford.
Cultivator, advocate, broker
I’ve known Maureen Howard for some years now. We co-chair the
Washington Low Income Housing Alliance’s (WLIHA) Homeownership
Committee, and she is active on WLIHA’s state and federal
legislative committees as well. Maureen began working with the
statewide Habitat group in a consulting capacity from Habitat
International in 2003 and was hired on as executive director in
mid-2006.
MAUREEN HOWARD
Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Washington State
Maureen’s role previous to Habitat was as a U.S. Foreign Service
Officer. Public diplomacy certainly has its affinities with her
current responsibilities and efforts. She’s a terrific
cultivator of partnerships and collaborations, of bringing
various organizations and resources together to serve the common
good. She has done a wonderful job of reaching out to donors and
volunteers, Habitat affiliates, and other affordable housing
partners.
Affiliates work in their local community in whatever way works
best. “Part of my role,” she says, “is to help them see
opportunities they might not have seen before.”
There are a number of partnerships that HFHWA has helped to
develop on the building supply side, for example. ProBuild is
one. The Habitat affiliates have access to a special Habitat
pricing level from ProBuild and other vendors for the homes they
build. “We act more like a broker,” says Maureen. “We don’t
guarantee to a partner that the affiliates will buy x
amount. And we don’t purchase in bulk. But we say: here’s the
relationship, here are our needs—what would you like to do to
help and what’s the easiest way to make this work?”
HFHWA has built a similar relationship with other resource and
assistance providers in our state. Maureen helps the Habitat
affiliates to access the Housing Trust Fund (HTF) as well as
technical assistance and resources available through statewide
organizations like Common Ground, Community Frameworks, and
Impact Capital. “It’s all about understanding the role of other
players in our affordable housing community—because together
we’ll accomplish more than any of us can individually,” she
says.
It’s a great climate for encouraging fresh approaches to
time-honored challenges. Here are some recent new activities
that have begun under Maureen’s watch:
Construction Managers’ Network. In April 2004,
two Habitat construction managers asked Maureen if she would
convene other Puget Sound-area construction managers; they
wanted to bring down costs by 10%. Out of that first meeting,
they’ve built the Northwest Construction Managers’ network,
which convenes quarterly. It is attended by managers from
Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, with interest now from Montana,
California, and B.C. as well. Jerry Fugich, an HFHWA volunteer,
manages the Network, the Habitat partnerships, and provides
technical assistance to the affiliates.
The construction managers meet to get training and trade ideas.
The meetings have been a boon for sharing information about
opportunities for new partnerships. “We follow up on those,”
says Maureen. “Someone may say: ‘This company’s interested in
working with us. We think it would be really good for
everybody.’ We’ve ended up with special pricing partnerships
with Milgard Windows, North Coast Electric, Great Floors ....”
Sustainable Building Specialist. As part of The
Home Depot Foundation and Habitat for Humanity–Partners in
Sustainable Building pilot program, HFHWA now has a sustainable
building specialist on staff, Ed Brown, beginning August 1.
Mainstream Green. “Our Construction Managers’
Network gave us a base to move forward on green building,
because we had this direct relationship: We knew exactly what
each affiliate was doing—who was doing radiant heat, for
example,” she says. “When the state legislature adopted a green
building requirement for HTF grants, we knew many affiliates
were already doing green building; we also knew 11 Habitat
affiliates would need to comply because they already received
HTF money.”
(left to right) Weyerhaeuser employees
SHAWNDA THARPS, MIKKI PIERUCCIONI, MARGARET LARKEY, AND
CHRISTINE ANDERSON volunteered at the Pringle
family’s home in Reynolds Park for a “Women Build Friday” in
July. The Women Build effort was launched by Habitat for Humanity
International in 1998 Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity
has sponsored Women Build Fridays all summer.
HFHWA’s Board has adopted CTED’s Evergreen Sustainable
Development Standard as state Habitat policy. “We work for
the local affiliates, so we can’t say you have to do this, what
we say is that we think this is good policy; we’ll help you
understand it and implement it.” HFHWA will sponsor the two-day
conference, Mainstream Green, on October 3 and 4 in
Tacoma. Mainstream Green will help participants
implement the new Evergreen Standard; CTED is using
Mainstream Green to provide education on the Evergreen
Standard to all interested homeownership organizations.
For more information on the conference, contact HFHWA:
mainstreamgreenconference@habitatwa.org.
Maureen says she’s particularly proud of our state affiliates’
efforts to lend a hand to one other. “They work together
extraordinarily well in Washington State irrespective of their
size,” she says. “Whether they’re rural or urban, large or
small, paid staff or all volunteer—there’s a spirit of
collegiality and collaboration. Not that that doesn’t exist
elsewhere in other organizations and among other Habitat
affiliates across the country. But I feel really good about
what’s going on here: people are truly generous—with their
knowledge, experience, time, and resources.”
Great energy and ideas in Pierce County
Maureen Fife is the highly effective CEO of Tacoma/Pierce County
Habitat for Humanity. Since she joined them in late 2005, this
affiliate has spearheaded many exciting strategies in getting
homes built. Just three years ago, the affiliate had built its
100th house; last spring, they tapped their 150th family. Does
she see this pace continuing? “That’s our plan,” Maureen says.
Habitat is life-changing. It can truly change the cycle of
poverty for a family in a single generation. It’s an enormous
leg up for parents and for their children.
MAUREEN FIFE
CEO of Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity
Maureen had previously worked for about a decade as deputy
director with Associated Ministries, a faith-based Christian
nonprofit that serves low-income families in Pierce County. She
says she had a firm grip on the nonprofit world in helping
families with emergency needs. “But building experience I did
not have,” she laughs. “It was like drinking from the fire hose.
There was a lot to learn my first year.”
As Maureen points out, in applying the Habitat model, an
affiliate is the land developer, the builder, the volunteer
coordinator, the developer of sponsorships and other fundraising
efforts—and also the bank.
For Maureen’s group, as with so many Puget Sound-area Habitat
affiliates, one of the biggest hurdles faced is securing
affordable land. “We’re in a unique, very small window where the
housing market is down, so land prices are down. The downside is
that now financing is drying up. It’s a double-edged sword. Here
in Pierce County we’re fortunate, though: We have been competing
for land with commercial builders, and have been able to
continue to snag land for development.”
Right now, this affiliate is finishing up on a development of 16
homes in East Tacoma called Reynolds Park, which sits on a bluff
just across the street from Tacoma Housing Authority’s (THA’s)
HOPE VI development, New Salishan. They broke ground about 18
months ago, and when we visited last month, work had begun on
the last three foundations.
 
(Left) Site Manager GUY NIELSEN and
homeowner GHEORGHE SIRBU in Gheorghe’s nearly
completed home in Reynolds Park. Gheorghe, a professional
painter, painted the entire house himself. (Right) MARY PETE
works on the Pringle home in Reynolds Park. Mary also
volunteered with Habitat in Gulfport, Mississippi for a
three-week stint after Hurricane Katrina.
As you can see from the nearby photographs, Reynolds Park, named
after a long-time Habitat volunteer, represents a significant
commitment of time and dedication from literally hundreds of
people. On that day in July alone, there were at least 50
volunteers on the site, including groups from Weyerhaeuser and
young adults from all over the U.S., there as part of Habitat
International’s Youth Immersion Project. A number of the
volunteers are not affiliated with any group—they’re dedicated
people who pitch in on a regular basis, like Alison Paradise,
who’s been volunteering with Habitat since the early 1980s, and
11-year volunteer John McQuade.
Here are just a few of the activities and accomplishments of
this affiliate:
Two Habitat Chapters. There are relatively few
affiliates across the U.S. that run chapters—they’re difficult
to implement and run effectively. Tacoma/Pierce County has
two working under their organizational umbrella: in Gig
Harbor-Key Peninsula and in East Pierce County. Maureen’s group
provides the administrative overhead, and the chapters are
completely run by volunteers. The Gig Harbor chapter is
currently building three homes on the Key Peninsula. “The
chapter is an amazing group of people, and it’s growing by leaps
and bounds,” says Maureen.
Building at the Puyallup Fair. The great news
for the East Pierce County chapter is that they’ve finally
secured a lot for their first home, in Puyallup. “They’ve been
struggling to buy land,” says Maureen. The home destined for
this lot will be built at the Puyallup Fair next month. “The
Fair came to us wanting to do a partnership. We’ll build a
three-bedroom house in a modular home format, and a donor came
forward to move the house to its permanent site for free.”
Youth Immersion. Tacoma/Pierce County was one
of five U.S. affiliates selected this summer to host weeklong
youth volunteer groups organized by Habitat International. “Last
week we had kids from Paris, Canada, the East Coast, Texas—our
volunteer director, Cassandra, is just amazing,” says Maureen.
“In the spring, she volunteered our affiliate to sponsor
collegiate challenge. We ended up with seven college groups from
all over the U.S. during the month of March. They spent their
spring breaks with us. Their exuberance, great attitude, and
energy level were such a treat for us. Our involvement in Youth
Immersion came out of that connection.”
ReStore bounty. The affiliate’s ReStore [see
nearby sidebar], which opened at 505 Puyallup Avenue in Tacoma
in April 2007, has already netted the group enough revenue to
pay for three homes. “It’s a bevy of activity,” says Maureen.
“We have had incredible support.”
HOPE VI partnerships. Tacoma/Pierce County has
partnered with THA to build homes in New Salishan, THA’s HOPE VI
development. They have built six homes in the first phase and
will build 22 homes in Phase II, starting next spring.
Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat was one of five U.S. affiliates
selected to host week-long youth volunteer groups as part of
Habitat International’s Youth Immersion Project this summer.
Pictured here at Reynolds Park, left to right, are
JULIE from Utah, RILEY
from Seattle, and RYAN from
Long Island.
The median price for a home in Pierce County is roughly
$300,000. Generally, with their smaller square footage, a home
built by this Habitat affiliate will be appraised between
$210,000 and $250,000. The group is then able to get a family’s
mortgage down to about $130,000, which is no mean feat. “If a
family can’t afford even that, with 30% of their income as their
housing allowance, we will roll what they can’t pay into a
silent forgivable second mortgage,” Maureen explains.
The Habitat volunteer database for Tacoma/Pierce County numbers
more than 3,000. “The list ebbs and flows, but what’s amazing
for us is that we don’t advertise for volunteers,” she says. “We
have a volunteer orientation twice a month that averages 75 to
100 new people. Essentially, people have to find us. We’re in a
very fortunate place—I think that speaks to the fact that the
mission of Habitat really resonates with people. When you
volunteer it truly makes a difference. And it is tangible—after
a day of labor you can see what you’ve accomplished.”
Yakima Valley Partners—still going strong
Yakima Valley Partners (YVP) is Washington State’s oldest
Habitat affiliate—it was founded in 1984 and is still going
strong. They’ve built more than 120 homes in 11 communities from
Yakima to Prosser. In their construction efforts, this affiliate
applies a “summer work camp” model, drawing on the support of a
one-week commitment from volunteer groups from churches in their
community, as well as from churches, and a church high school,
in other parts of Washington and Oregon.
Mike Nixon, the executive director of YVP since 2003, had been
involved with Habitat for many years before that as missions
director of a local Presbyterian church. His dedication and
personal commitment to the work come through powerfully. This
affiliate is building about seven homes a year. Approximately
half of those are going up in the Upper Valley, which includes
Yakima, and half are in the Lower Valley south of Yakima, which
includes the communities of Toppenish, Sunnyside, Granger,
Grandview, and Wapato.
MIKE NIXON
Yakima Valley Partners’ executive director stands in the open
yard of the Yakima ReStore. Doors are a hot-ticket item at
the store.
YVP, because it serves people who earn from 25 to 60% of Yakima
County’s AMI, works with many farmworker families. “Probably a
good half of our Habitat families are connected to the farm
economy in one way or another, whether it’s the meat-packing
plant in Toppenish, or a significant number who work in fields
and orchards,” Mike says. “In the course of the year, they’ll
have anywhere from one to six employers. The reality is that’s
where the working poor work in the Valley—they tend to be in
agriculture. For YVP, about 85 to 90% of the homeowners are
Hispanic.”
As a rule, the families who build their Habitat homes continue
to live there. “90% of our homeowners are still in the home they
built—with some of them it’s been almost 25 years,” Mike says.
“And we still carry the contract for about 80% of our homes.”
Currently, thanks to relatively affordable land prices in the
Valley, this affiliate is able to sell a three-bedroom home to a
qualifying family for about $85,000.
Taking into account the appraisal value, YVP writes a second
mortgage, forgivable over the course of the 20-year loan as long
as the family stays in the home. One of the reasons for this is
to protect them from predatory lending. If a predatory lender
offers them cash at unsavory rates, Mike explains, the family
will at least be required to talk through the deal with
Habitat—“and we can point out what’s not in their best
interests.”
KRIS WILSEY, construction
supervisor for Habitat affiliate Yakima Valley Partners, stands
in front of a home-in-progress.
Like every Habitat affiliate, YVP relies on a patchwork of
supporters. Mike’s group has had tremendous support from
churches in the community over the years. “Some of it is general
giving, some churches will come in on a very specific build to
help out.” And the Yakima ReStore continues to bring in
significant revenues, netting some $200,000 for home-building
efforts in the past year. Thrivent Financial, a Lutheran
financial services organization that has been a major corporate
sponsor for Habitat International programs in recent years, has
partnered locally with YVP; the third home fully funded by
Thrivent in the Yakima Valley area is just now being completed.
This past spring, a group from St. Matthew’s Lutheran in
Beaverton, Oregon came to build in Yakima for their 21st
consecutive year. “They come in the space of one week, and will
take a house from the deck and footings—they’ll put up studded
walls, side it, put up the tresses and roof, windows and doors
by the week’s end.”
In mid-July, during the build featured in a few of this issue's photos—a work group from St. Christopher’s in
Olympia—the
temperature in Yakima was hovering right around 95 degrees. Now
that’s commitment. “We keep the water flowing,” says Mike. “On
days like these, we get an early start to beat the worst of the
heat.”
Seattle/South King County’s partnerships
Habitat for Humanity of Seattle/South King County is doing great
work in a very challenging area. The cost of land for homes in
King County continues to rise out of the reach of working
families at the low end of the income spectrum. This Habitat
affiliate has kept pace in a number of creative ways,
establishing partnerships and continuing to secure land and
build homes. Along the way, more and more homes are being built
as multiplexes to make the entire equation more affordable.
DIANE GALLEGOS
Associate Director, Habitat for Humanity of Seattle/South King
County
They’ve also piloted a program in Federal Way called the 21st
Century Challenge. Working alongside numerous partners in a
challenged neighborhood called Westway, Seattle/South King
County is utilizing the Habitat model to rehabilitate ailing
homes so that low-income homeowners don’t lose that precious
roof over their heads.
I spoke with Diane Gallegos, who has done a tremendous job in
the role of interim executive director of this affiliate; she’d
previously worked as associate director and has been with
Habitat for about nine years. Martin Kooistra just took on the
CEO role on August 4th.
First, here are just a few of the ways in which Seattle/South
King County is making the Habitat model work in an area with
stratospheric land costs:
Partnerships with local PHAs. Seattle/South
King County is working with both King County Housing Authority
(KCHA) and Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) in purchasing
affordable lots and building Habitat homes in three HOPE VIs:
SHA’s Rainier Vista and High Point, and KCHA’s Greenbridge.
Fort Lawton. The closure of this U.S. Army base
in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood has opened up some
developable land for affordable housing. Seattle/South King
County will be building three duplexes there.
It’s a tradition with Habitat volunteers to proudly sign
their work on a home’s underpinnings. One of the contributors to
this home in Granger is Yakima Mayor and former Seattle Mariner
Dave Edler.
Partnerships with Homestead Community Land Trust.
Working in conjunction with this Seattle-based CLT, Humanity of
Seattle/South King County has recently completed its seventh
home in Seattle’s Judkins Park neighborhood. The City of Seattle
donated the land on which these homes sit to Homestead CLT;
thanks to the land being held in trust, these homes will remain
affordable for the long term.
Partnership with East King County Habitat affiliate.
Land enough for 41 units in Skyway was purchased from a builder
facing a slowdown. The two Habitat affiliates will join forces
to keep the project’s size manageable.
A decade-old tradition of the Brown family is sponsoring a
Habitat home to honor family members upon their passing. Thus
far, they’ve financially supported eight homes in California,
Minnesota, and Washington State. Relatives come from all over
the U.S. to help build a home and participate in its dedication.
BRITISH, DEBBIE, LEISHA, AND JESSE BROWN
took part in the construction—and the July 12 dedication—of the
Damian home in Reynolds Park, sponsored in honor of long-time
Tacoma resident Nathalie Bell Brown, who died in 2007 Nathalie
was Brit and Jesse’s grandmother and Debbie’s mother-in-law The
Browns are members of the Laird Norton extended family, well
known for their focus on philanthropy.
21st Century Challenge
One remarkable chapter in the Seattle/South King County
Habitat’s story is their work on the 21st Century Housing
Challenge pilot project in Federal Way’s Westway neighborhood.
They are remedying substandard housing within that community.
This was a neighborhood that, several years ago, was spiraling
into troubled territory. Crime was up, neighbors were fearful,
houses were falling into disrepair, and some landlords were
refusing to maintain their rental homes. Community leaders,
residents, and groups who came to the table included Americorps
volunteers and the Federal Way school district, members of the
city government, Franciscan Healthcare, the police department,
the Multi-Service Center, and United Way of King County.
Weyerhaeuser employee JESSICA ROBERTS
pitches in at a Reynolds Park home in Tacoma.
Everyone has pitched in based on their area of expertise. The
police worked on cleaning up crime, and the City put pressure on
the landlords. Funding was provided by Capital One, United Way,
and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, among others.
Volunteer architects contributed designs for housing and
landscaping. Members of the electric and plumbers unions
contributed thousands of dollars of pro-bono work.
Seattle/South King County Habitat has committed itself to
rehabilitate and repair some 36 privately owned Westway homes.
“We’re going unit by unit with the housing,” says Diane. Westway
is one of the few remaining islands of affordability in South
King County, but many of the residents, Diane explains, couldn’t
afford to keep up with the maintenance. As with Habitat
homebuyers, those families whose homes undergo a major rehab
will donate sweat equity and sign a no-interest, no-profit note
that won’t be acted on unless they sell or refinance.
Quarterly “community days of action” hosted by the coalition
involve painting and landscaping. During the last community day
over 250 volunteers showed up. The second major home rehab
dedication will take place on Sept. 13th. “It’s been exciting,
to see the community building in this neighborhood,” Diane says.
“Neighbors wanting their neighborhood to be better and willing
to do the work.”
The Tri-Cities: Sustaining one housing start per month
The Tri-Cities area of Southeastern Washington embraces the
cities of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland. Like Yakima,
agriculture plays a huge role in the local economy. Land is more
affordable on the east side of the Cascades, but the capital
required for infrastructure in developing land for low-income
housing can be an enormous hurdle for nonprofits. Habitat for
Humanity, Tri-Cities is doing a masterful job of finding ways to
finance homes, secure developed land—and develop land on their
own.
THERESA RICHARDSON
Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity, Tri-Cities
When Theresa Richardson joined Habitat for Humanity, Tri-Cities
as executive director in 2004, the organization was building one
home at time and struggling to keep their momentum. Theresa, who
had been working as a development consultant in fundraising and
capital campaigns, stepped in—and has truly turned things
around. She’ll be the first to say that it’s always a challenge
to keep funding flowing and keep moving forward, but she and
this affiliate continue to find a way.
“We’re just at that cusp of being able to build one home a
month,” says Theresa. “The effort will be to sustain that. We’ve
been very fortunate with our community support. Corporations are
supporting and sponsoring houses, as are churches. It takes so
much to build a house, and sustaining this pace will be a
challenge.”
As with virtually all Habitat homes, a significant financial
sponsorship is needed to make up the difference between the
actual cost and what a homeowner can afford. In the Tri-Cities,
this sponsorship is pegged at $50,000 (that number is frequently
higher west of the Cascades, where costs are also higher). “Even
with that $50,000, we need to raise additional dollars, because
our costs are going up, land costs are going up—but $50,000
seems to be a threshold that corporate and church involvement
can wrap their arms around,” Theresa says.
Theresa is a dynamic fundraiser, and has brought great ideas for
raising capital and enlisting volunteer support. The Tri-Cities
Habitat has sponsored Women Build efforts, a “Walk Home” to a
Habitat home, and other benefit events. Their ReStore, which
opened in 2006, is providing a steady flow of revenue.
Currently two significant neighborhoods figure largely for this
affiliate. The first is in East Pasco. Ralph Broetje, owner of
one of the largest private orchards in the world, wanted to
provide his workers with a place to live closer to town. He
bought 50 acres in East Pasco to develop for 250 homes. “He
developed all the infrastructure,” says Theresa, “with the goal
of creating a mixed-income neighborhood. He has made all this
available for families in the orchard in terms of funding and
support.” Habitat has purchased 21 lots, and has completed 11
homes and has four more under construction there. “It has helped
us increase our capacity because we have a steady stream of lots
at a great location.”
The second project is proving to be a much tougher task, as
Tri-Cities Habitat is taking on the role of developer as well.
Their vision is for an affordably green community in Kennewick.
“We’re putting the pieces of the puzzle together for lots, where
we’re potentially developing a neighborhood of 30 homes,”
Theresa says. “We want to showcase affordably green techniques.
The homes are cottage-style, with front porches, parking around
the back, and a beautiful green common area in the middle. And
that’s our challenge. We can build homes, identify wonderful
families to partner with and engage the community with
volunteers and sponsorships. But our biggest hurdle is
developing the infrastructure we need.”
Right now, this affiliate owns half the land. The other half is
surplus City of Kennewick property, and negotiations are
continuing. “The support from the HTF has been fabulous,” she
says. “It’s been great to work with Jan Navarre of CTED and her
staff. With the Kennewick project, we almost meet the minimum
green criteria on location alone. We are close to schools,
hospitals, buses, and shopping, and the development includes
great walking paths and bicycle trails.”
From assisting families, to raising capital, to developing land,
to providing a meaningful experience for volunteers, running a
Habitat “is like walking on a waterbed,” Theresa concludes.
“Something always pops up. So you really have to enjoy this kind
of work. Every day presents a different challenge, and you’re
always adjusting.”
Broadening the base of believers in
decent, affordable housing
Printed on the following page is a listing of all 36 Habitat
for Humanity affiliates that are building in Washington State. I wish we had the space to feature the
accomplishments of all of them. The Spokane affiliate, for
example, is building homes at a tremendous pace. East King
County has innovated a unique land trust program for the 50
homes they’re building in the 4,000+-home Snoqualmie Ridge
subdivision, to keep these homes affordable in the future. Each
affiliate has taken a different path to success.
Volunteer MARK MACLEOD,
crew chief, assists JENNIFER COOKE
with the finer points of measure twice, cut once. Jennifer
volunteered for a day at Reynolds Park along with other members
of Zombie Club, a horror flick fan group.
I’m going to have Maureen Fife and Maureen Howard conclude this
issue. Maureen Fife makes the very critical point that what
Habitat succeeds in doing in the act of building these homes is
to transform lives. Maureen Howard touches on the Christian
character of Habitat’s mission. As we all know, the essence of
Habitat is its notably Christian act of lending a hand to others
in need. But this organization’s doors are open to people of all
faiths and creeds. And their motives are to make believers out
of all of us on the issue of affordable housing for all.
Maureen Fife: “Habitat is life-changing. It can truly
change the cycle of poverty for a family in a single generation.
It’s an enormous leg up for parents and for their children. I
don’t know of another program that does that: raising children
out of poverty and bringing stability, education, security—an
opportunity to grow up with the same neighbors for your whole
life. All of those things that can enable a child to feel safe
and loved and see a future for themselves.”
Maureen Howard: “One of the things that’s really
important about Habitat is that we’re very clear about our
Christian identity. We’re equally clear that our goal is to
engage people from the entire spectrum of the community. There’s
no expectation about religious beliefs. The commitment is that
people need a safe and decent affordable place to live. And
we’ll make that happen by actually building homes, educating the
community about the need, and doing advocacy that creates
resources and creates policies.
“We provide people with an opportunity to directly engage with
families who need the housing. They build that housing together.
My hope is that the experiences broaden the base of people who
believe that we could house everyone.”
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