By MONIQUE BEDFORD, Solutions News Bureau
LANSING, MICHIGAN – According to the City of Detroit’s Housing and Revitalization Department, a house is considered affordable when housing costs don’t exceed 30% of one household’s monthly income. But when you live at poverty level – which 33.2% of Detroiters do, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, “affordable” housing can be especially difficult to find.
And with a pandemic, inflation, and higher housing costs, the prospects of homeownership for economically disadvantaged residents are more out of reach than ever before.
In these times, the significance of the work of organizations such as Michigan’s non-profit Habitat for Humanity – which partners with low-income families to build affordable housing – is especially underscored.
Michigan’s Habitat for Humanity approach
This organization is one of the largest state networks in the nation and has an affiliate in almost every county in Michigan which in turn serves its local communities. From the headquarters in Lansing, affiliates are given the support they need to help people in need of a home by supplying volunteers, fundraising, and advocating for safe, reliable and affordable housing.
The mission is to essentially build and rebuild a stronger Michigan by giving Michigan families in need an affordable and reliable home to call their own. There are other non-profits with similar goals, but the Habitat organization has a different approach in making sure that it is not only obtainable but sustainable.
Ultimately, HFHM provides long-term education, support and resources prior to purchasing a house and after. This organization offers classes on financial literacy, home maintenance, counseling on budgeting and even foreclosure prevention services.
“Our program isn’t just ‘hi I want to buy a house; okay, here’s a house.’ It’s a process,” says Sandra Pearson, the CEO and president of Habitat for Humanity. “We’re in it for the long run and we want the family and buyer to be self-sufficient.”
A sense of camaraderie and community is also used in this program’s approach. It’s demonstrated in hours of sweat equity invested in one’s own home or another person’s home. The home applicants themselves and or volunteers use their own hands to help build their own homes, or remove debris or donate to stores – known as Restores – affiliated with the program.
“The most enjoyable part was working on the home and actually having a hand on building my own home,” says Anitra Austin, a habitat homeowner and the Housing and Family Services Manager of Lansing’s Habitat for Humanity. “Having the opportunity for my children to witness something like making a building from the ground up and being able to call it our home was the most impactful for me.”
Funding
Another unique aspect of Habitat, is that it’s not actively advertised to the public. The program receives its applicants from referrals from other applicants, or volunteers or partners.
“Our funding sources are from local foundations, community foundations, utility companies, corporate foundations, churches, sometimes politicians, individual donors, philanthropists, a lot of fundraising and access to federal and state grant resources,” says Pearson. “A big one with Habitat are the REstores; they generate about 30% of our operational income that is needed to operate.”
In January, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded nearly $104.7 million to 60 non-profit organizations and state local government agencies. Habitat for Humanity Michigan received a $2 million federal grant to address home repairs for low-income families using their Healthy Homes Production Grant Program. And it didn’t stop there.
“During this pandemic period, we have received $4 million directly from HUD,” says Pearson. “We’ve received two $1 million grants for veteran home repair and modifications and just received notification about the Healthy Homes Production Grant.”
Detroit’s Habitat affiliate also will be impacted by the grant but many of its funds come from the generosity of others.
“There are some incredible people out there,” says Stephanie Osterland, CEO of Detroit’s Habitat for Humanity. “There are lots of local Detroit based corporations that donate; we have a lot of faith supporters, like local churches and our individual donors, like volunteers, that donate monthly even.”
Sylvia Hubbard-Hutula, founder of the Motown Writers Network, and a Detroit habitat homeowner for eight years, witnessed this generosity firsthand.
“I had done a lot of speaking engagements about this program and because of that many people donated; and when the kids and I got our home we were no longer sleeping in a cold, abandoned home; it was now a warm, fully furnished home with food,” says Hubbard-Hutula.
Habitat and the Pandemic
It’s needless to say that when COVID hit the world in 2019, everyone was impacted and forced to adapt to the new world that was presented. All of the affiliates had to adapt to working virtually which was doable. But there was substantial impact on the homeownership program due to high demand of housing and the lack of contractors and volunteers to help build the homes as well as the rising costs of materials needed to build the homes.
“The demand is very high, we have over 120 people that complete our online intake form for homeownership only every single month and I can only work on six homes this quarter,” says Osterland. “The sheer costs of home rehab construction activities are a challenge; lumber prices have gone up significantly and there’s almost a contractor shortage which in turn causes longer timelines for people in need.”
The one solution that is used to combat these challenges is to keep pushing forward. “We just dig in and remember why we are doing this and who we are serving,” says Osterland. “That’s life and things happen, it’s like you’re trudging through the mud and you slow down from the mud on your boots, but you can’t stop you have to keep going.”
And so they did.
According to HFHM’s 2020 fiscal year annual report, 12 families were able to buy a home after engaging with housing counseling and attending financial education services. The Priority Home Repair Program served 51 households and MHSDA’s Down Payment Assistance Forgivable Loan Program served 24 households this year.
Benefits of Habitat for Humanity
At a local level, it is the 35th year anniversary for Detroit’s Habitat for Humanity and over that time frame the program has built close to 400 homes and has completed a number of home repairs according to Osterland. This doesn’t just benefit the families, but the value of the city and community.
“We’ve seen significant increase in housing stock, says Osterland. “When we do homeownership there’s property taxes associated with that and the regeneration of taxes that go back to the city can also help improve city services that can improve neighborhoods and communities.”
According to detroitmi.gov, Detroit neighborhood home values increased by an average of 30% in 2021 continuing a five-year trend. Mayor Mike Duggan says the increase in value reflects ongoing improvements in the neighborhood such as blight removal, park improvements and other key city services.
Another benefit is the affordability of the homes. Austin has been a habitat homeowner for 17 years and has recently finished paying off her mortgage in 2019.
“I originally had a 30-year mortgage, but was able to pay it off in 17 years due to being financially stable and managing my money correctly to be able to make the extra payments and paying it off sooner.”
For Hubbard-Hutula, one of the benefits was the way the house was constructed. “This house is awesome; there are energy-saving appliances, an air-purifying system, and compared to other households we only use about 40% of energy that other households use,” says Hubbard-Hutula. “I hardly pay anything for my DTE bill because we are only using exactly what we need.”
