Home repairs and improvements boomed early in the pandemic, as people adapted spaces for work, school and relaxation. In fact, almost 80% of us tackled a project then, according to the Harvard report “Improving America’s Housing 2021.”
DIY took a dip once consumers felt more comfortable allowing contractors inside again. But, the report states, that hasn’t necessarily been the case for Seattle homeowners, who lead the country in taking on their own renovating and repairing.
To help you dig in, we’ve assembled advice from a few local do-it-yourselfers to help knock out midsize tasks quickly and smoothly over a weekend.
To read more, including tips from our repair manager Mike Inocencio, click the link.
It’s hardly a secret that living in a well-organized, clutter-free home is good for our mental health. One 2019 study found that “an overabundance of possessions that collectively create chaotic and disorderly living spaces” has a “negative impact” on one’s psychological health.
It’s also no surprise that a lot of us live in houses with a definite overabundance of possessions.
The good news is that when you find yourself surrounded by too much stuff, there are free services in the Seattle area that can help get those belongings out of your home — and out of your life.
“I’m constantly downsizing, figuring out ways to get rid of stuff,” says Jacqueline Noles, who lives in Seattle’s Pinehurst neighborhood. She says keeping her home’s clutter at bay “keeps anxiety to a minimum.”
“Once you don’t have all that stuff anymore, it is so freeing,” Noles says. “It’s incredible.”
Here are a few ways you can get rid of those possessions that have overstayed their welcome.
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
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.
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.
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
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
