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K-LOVE LOCAL Closer Look: Seattle Habitat for Humanity

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In the spirit of ‘back to school,’ we turned to a recent interview between Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King & Kittitas Counties CEO Brett D’Antonio and Bob Dittman of K-LOVE radio to gather a few facts you might not know about the organization. Click here to listen to the full interview.

  • Fact 1 – Habitat for Humanity wasn’t started by Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. Though the Carters are Habitat’s most famous supporters, the organization grew out of an interracial community in rural Georgia. In 1942, the families of Koinonia Farms started providing housing for each other, creating the model that later became Habitat for Humanity. And it’s been growing internationally ever since.
  • Fact 2 – Habitat doesn’t give homes away. Instead, it forms partnerships with potential homeowners who qualify for homes by demonstrating the need for safe, affordable housing; by showing they can pay a modest mortgage; and, most important, by committing to participate in a sweat equity program. That means 250 hours of working on their own or other Habitat homes with volunteers and future neighbors, or volunteering in a Habitat Store or home office. Future Habitat homeowners also attend classes on budgeting, mortgage documentation, even a budgeting class for kids. Another surprising fact — those classes are open to any family that needs to buy a home whether they’re buying through Habitat or not.
  • Fact 3 – Habitat goes beyond building homes.  Habitat SKC conducts a Critical Home Repair program to provide low-income families with important repairsso they can stay in their homes. Projects in the $15-$25,000 range like a new roof, or a new deck can be done at no up-front cost to the homeowner. Habitat’s Home Preservation Program provides minor repairs that can prevent the need for later critical repair. Habitat volunteers often work in neighborhood clusters so they can serve five or six homes in a single day. Habitat’s Aging In Place program supports individual seniors by adding needed fixes to their homes like grab bars, ramps, easier doorknobs and floors more suited to wheelchair traffic – all based on assessments from health care organizations.
  • Fact 4 – Habitat runs a Permanently Affordable Portfolio of Homes. To prevent Habitat homes from ending up on the open market, Habitat buys them back from Habitat homeowners when they move on to buy homes on their own. In those cases, Habitat facilitates home sales from one Habitat buyer to another. One of Brett’s favorite stories is of a Habitat home built on Whidbey Island by active-duty Naval staff for a single mom. She later married and got a better job, so she could buy a home on her own in her new location. Habitat sold that home to another Habitat family who moved on to better circumstances two years later and sold the house to a third Habitat family. “That’s what we’re here for,” Brett said. “I’ll always remember how one house benefited three families in a short period of time.”
  • Fact 5 – Habitat Lobbies for Affordable Housing.  Through its Cost of Home (COH) Advocacy Campaign, Habitat has spent five years working the State Legislature to pass laws that reform policies like credit or land use access, any laws that make housing more affordable in the State. This year alone, the COH group was able to get $25M added to the State’s budget for affordable home ownership along with other affordable housing measures passed with the help of activists who wrote 9,600 messages to Washington legislators.

Habitat’s mission to create affordable, safe housing for everyone takes many forms, and these five facts are just part of the story. To learn more about Habitat for Humanity SKC and the many ways in which you can get involved visit: How to Help – Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King & Kittitas Counties (habitatskc.org)

Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County Awarded $428,000 Grant from
the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust

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SEATTLE (July 14, 2022) – Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County is pleased to announce it has received a substantial grant of $428,000 from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust of Vancouver, Washington, dedicated to the overall expansion of its Homeowner Services Program. Funds will be used for the recruitment, hiring and training of two additional staff members, as well as a web development contract for an enhanced homeowner portal with on-demand homeowner education.

The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, created by the will of the late Melvin J. (Jack) Murdock, provides grants to nonprofit organizations in five states of the Pacific Northwest—Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington—that seek to strengthen the region’s educational, social, spiritual, and cultural base in creative and sustainable ways.

“Given the critical need for affordable housing in our region, we are incredibly grateful to the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust for this generous gift and for recognizing Habitat for Humanity’s proven model of creating and supporting homeownership for low-income households,” Brett D’Antonio, CEO, Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County. “This grant will increase the capacity of Homeowner Services to match Habitat SKC’s growing pipeline, while providing the ability to offer homeowner education classes, home maintenance classes, homeowner forms, application materials, and more via the new Homeowner Services portal.”

Habitat for Humanity SKC constructs affordable homes, revitalizes neighborhoods, repairs homes for low-income people and seniors, operates discount home improvement stores in Auburn, Southcenter and Bellevue, and mobilizes more than 4,500 volunteers a year. Currently, with a pipeline of 270+ homes in various phases of planning and construction, Habitat SKC is on track to surpass its ambitious goal of building and selling 1,000 cumulative housing solutions to low-income community members by 2025.

A five-fold increase in development activity since 2020 has presented the Homeowner Services team with certain challenges, including increased project management activities, a greater need for outreach to find new, eligible applicants and process those applications, the need for a more efficient purchase and education process for prospective and new homeowners, and an increased effort to track and support the expanding pool of current partner families.

D’Antonio continues, “One of the most important roles of our Homeowner Services team is to ensure our homeowners are engaged and stewarded through the program – not just in the beginning, when they buy a home, but through their entire experience as a life-long Habitat Homeowner. Our goal is not only to get people housed, but to keep them housed.”

The vision of all Habitat for Humanity affiliates around the world is “a world where everyone has a decent place to live.” Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County builds strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter – moving families out of vulnerable housing into homeownership, providing the opportunity for families to build equity and transition to the middle class. Through its proven model of creating and supporting homeownership for low-income households, Habitat SKC prepares families and communities for financial success and stability through programs that help individuals purchase, preserve, and stay in affordable homes.

More About M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust
M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, created by the will of the late Melvin J. (Jack) Murdock, provides grants to organizations in five states of the Pacific Northwest—Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington—that seek to strengthen the region’s educational and cultural base in creative and sustainable ways. www.murdocktrust.org

Affordable Housing Benefits Our Mental Health

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By Heidi Bitsoli

A roof over your head is something many of us take for granted. Those of us without it, however, are all too aware that it’s more than a place to shelter us from the elements. 

Affordable housing is a key to many benefits well beyond a place to make memories. A home you can afford provides stability and security, and that added peace of mind can do a world of good for our mental health. 

Mental Health Benefits of Affordable Housing

Affordable housing offers several benefits. When you have enough money to pay the rent or mortgage and have funds left over, that gives you more opportunities to invest in your overall health. Medical care, day-to-day necessities, and even a nest egg become all the more possible. That in itself is great for mental well-being.

Reduces Stress

Stress isn’t all bad. In the short term, it can help us focus. It can spark our fight-or-flight response and help us navigate dangerous situations. 

Over the long term, however, stress can do a number on our health. It can cause your muscles to tense, your blood pressure to elevate, and your heart rate to speed up. Too much strain can affect your heart, your immune system, or lead to headaches, muscle aches, and other nagging pains. 

Ongoing or extreme stress can contribute to depression, anxiety, burnout, and more. If stress drags on to make life feel like a relentless struggle, we might resort to substance abuse as a form of escape. That can further harm our minds and bodies.  

Fostering Stability, Providing Opportunity

Generally, housing is considered affordable when you allocate 30% or less of your total income toward rental or mortgage expenses. This percentage generally leaves sufficient funds to help manage other expenses (including any surprises that arise). It could even leave you with some left over to set aside for a rainy day or even stash something toward retirement. That can reduce stress and offer added peace of mind.

Another investment “opportunity” that affordable housing creates is the chance to invest in yourself. You might be able to further your education, and that could lead to better employment prospects. Having a job you love (or at least like) lowers stress, keeps you engaged, keeps you feeling fulfilled, and makes you healthier overall.

Improved Confidence in Children

The National Center on Family Homelessness revealed that among industrialized nations, the United States has the largest amount of homeless children and women. It attributes a lack of affordable housing as one of the primary causes of homelessness.

Forced relocation, evictions, and homelessness are harmful to children and adults alike. For children in particular, it means they may not get the opportunity to settle in at school. That can affect not only their learning but also harm the chances of establishing friendships and opportunities to socialize.

Unstable situations such as homelessness can contribute to the development of mental issues such as depression, low self-esteem, and developmental delays. Living in doubled-up housing, or experiencing frequent moves or foreclosures also elevates stress levels and feelings of hopelessness.

The stability and security tied to putting down roots can improve a child’s confidence, and minimize the likelihood of them developing mental and behavioral issues linked to stress, anxiety, and other woes stemming from unreliable living situations.

Reduced Need for Emergency Healthcare

Access to affordable and stable housing can minimize the need for emergency medical services. That can remedy some of the issues facing homeless individuals with mental health issues as well as ones plaguing domestic violence victims who find themselves struggling for shelter as they try to begin anew.

Stable housing provides safety and refuge, making people less likely to develop chronic illnesses or risk assault or robbery on the streets. It provides a place to keep proper hygiene and makes it easier to social distance during COVID-19 surges. 

Improved Nutrition

Homelessness and instability put children at higher risk of severe health issues. Kids in economically disadvantaged areas are more likely to have elevated lead levels in their blood and face more hospital visits. They can experience behavioral and emotional difficulties associated with high-stress levels (and sometimes due to lead exposure). Additionally, they may suffer from poor nutrition because the housing budget eats up grocery expenses.

A study showed that participants in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) experienced smaller housing costs. Enrollment in the program reduced the chances of unstable housing situations and food insecurity.

Food insecurity can cause mental health problems such as chronic stress, depression, and anxiety. Plus, good nutrition is vital to optimal brain function and can help improve mental health.

Having affordable housing is not just having a roof and four walls surrounding us. It’s a key to improved physical health and emotional well-being.

Sources
nchfa.com – Affordable Housing Benefits Health
headsup.scholastic.com – Stress and Drug Abuse: The Brain Connection
sunshinebehavioralhealth.com – Washington Rehab and Addiction Sources
forwardhousing.ca – The Benefits of Affordable Housing
incafrica.com – 5 Reasons Loving Your Job Helps You Live Longer
files.eric.ed.gov – The Characteristics and Needs of Families Experiencing Homelessness
tn.gov – The Polistive Impacts of Affordable Housing on Health: A Research Summary
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – Access to Affordable Housing Promote Health and Well-Being and Reduces Hospital Visits
homeforallsmc.org – Impact of Affordable Housing on Families and Communities: A Review of the Evidence Base
nhc.org – The Impacts of Affordable Housing on Health: A Research Summaryhealth.harvard.edu – Nutritional psychiatry: Your brain on food

Cost of Home Program Celebrates Three Years of Home Affordability Focusing Now on Black Homeownership Gap

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On June 12, 2022, Habitat for Humanity International marked the third anniversary of its global Cost of Home (COH) campaign, a collaboration among more than 400 Habitat affiliates worldwide working to increase access to home affordability and stability through policy and system changes at all levels of government. In three short years, 6.1 million people’s lives have already been transformed.

Thanks to a grant from HFH International, Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King & Kittitas County’s COH has contributed to helping 1.6 million people who have or will benefit from the nearly $1.3 billion assessed for affordable housing across the housing spectrum in our region.

Habitat SKC’s Cost of Home program has generated nearly 10,000 letters to lawmakers from homeowners and advocates, published news stories and Op-Eds in local papers to support their work, hosted Governor Jay Inslee at a Seattle build site for a press event focused on funding for “missing middle” housing and homeownership policy, and worked diligently to extend state and city eviction moratoriums, as well as a range of other tenant protection provisions.

This year, Habitat for Humanity International will amplify the Cost of Home program by launching its Advancing Black Homeownership initiative.  Thanks to a recent, beyond generous donation from MacKenzie Scott, Habitat will apply COH tools to engage in policy and systems change for Black families. Currently, only 43.1% of Black Americans own homes, compared to 74.4% of white Americans – an historic 30% gap.

Habitat International will initially invest more than $25 million over the next three to five years — with a goal of raising $100 million or more — to develop and launch a slate of new programs, including an equitable commercial lending strategy and property acquisition fund through Habitat Mortgage Solutions, HFHs community development financial institution. These are substantive answers to some of the racial and systemic biases that have stymied Black access to homeownership for generations. The initiative’s programs will help end the social and economic disparity many Black people and communities of color continue to face. 

Habitat SKC has embraced and will continue to support efforts to grow homeownership opportunities for our Black communities. On the legislative front, Habitat SKC’s COH program succeeded in ending exclusionary neighborhood councils during the 2022 session. We are working to alter the Seattle land use code designation, increase city level growth targets and it has advanced conversation on exclusionary zoning statewide.

While Cost of Homes aims to tackle the unprecedented record shortage of affordable homes overall, the addition of the Advancing Black Homeownership initiative is a natural during June as National Homeownership Month and as we mark our country’s second Independence Day with Juneteenth. This advocacy work allows Habitat for Humanity to expand its work locally and internationally.

It’s more important than ever to celebrate the value that owning a home brings to families, communities, and neighborhoods. There is no better example than the families with whom Habitat partners. For these individuals, homeownership means safety, security, and a sense of belonging. On a grand scale, affordable homeownership creates a diverse and inclusive community and helps keep our workforce strong.

With inflation skyrocketing to a 40-year high, everyday Americans are struggling even more to balance the cost of housing and other necessities. Habitat’s Cost of Home program becomes even more critical in advocating to ensure that everyonehas a safe, decent, and affordable place to live.

Please thank your legislative leaders for doing so much so far by following this link: https://p2a.co/bBrgW6F