The Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity ‘housing vaccine’
Since 1986, Habitat for Humanity has partnered with volunteers to build and repair homes that are safe and affordable for low-income families in Lancaster and Lebanon counties.
According to Habitat for Humanity, families struggling with stable homeownership are “spending 30% or more of their income on unaffordable housing” and, therefore, must often make tough choices that sacrifice spending money on “medical attention, food, clothing and home repairs” that are essential to their physical and mental health.
Through Habitat’s revitalization efforts, they have consequently helped to grow and strengthen communities throughout the area. Their efforts have been instrumental in showing how homeownership can empower families by guiding them in acquiring the skills and knowledge necessary to successfully purchase and maintain their first homes.
As Executive Director of Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity, Andrew Szalay states, “We have demand for housing, we don’t have enough houses, and the houses we do have need to be made safe, warm, dry and affordable. If it’s not all four of those things, it’s not any of those things.”
It is important to remember that many of the necessities in life we take for granted, such as physical and mental health, are directly connected to stable homeownership. For example, families residing in unsafe and unaffordable houses may suffer from health risks due to issues such as:
- poor code enforcement: fire and smoke detectors may not be installed or working,
- plumbing: many households may only have one working sink and no shower or bath,
- cleanliness: houses that are not clean invite anything from vermin to other insects, such as cockroaches, which are also directly causing asthma in many cases,
- air quality: a lot of moisture and dirt in the air goes directly into the lungs,
- housing structures: lack of proper roofing and flooring means families are not protected from the elements and results in accidents that families cannot afford, and
- stress challenges: families that are constantly worried about unaffordable housing, choosing between important bills, and sacrificing or compensating for certain necessities often suffer from mental health challenges and heart conditions.
These are many of the main concerns that Habitat for Humanity aims to eliminate through their housing programs.
With basic needs being met through living in a Habitat Home, families that have worked with the organization and become Habitat Homebuyers are better equipped to think about their education, nutrition, job and quality of the relationships with those around them. In providing families with this “housing vaccine”, things that seemed unattainable before are now possible and part of a pathway towards a brighter future.
For families interested in applying to the Habitat Homebuyers program, Szalay says they must “meet our income guidelines and be willing to partner with us, which means putting in the sweat equity to help build the house, repair it, rehab it and even work at our restore. If they demonstrate the ability to repay a mortgage with us, they are brought into the program and over the next year or so they can buy one of the houses they’ve helped renovate.”
Of the many projects they have, their new “50 Homes Now” appeal aims to “provide affordable homeownership opportunities to 50 families by the end of 2019.” Their overall vision also includes three main facets:
- 50 homes that are safe, warm, dry, and affordable,
- 150 individuals that will benefit from homeownership in reaching for strength, stability, and self-reliance and
- 12,000 hours served by volunteers.
Volunteer efforts from the community could provide families in need with the space necessary to make big life choices about furthering education, career changes, health needs, and aging in place for those they love and themselves.
As they gain more opportunities to reach out to different media outlets, venues and volunteers, Habitat has been able to bring more attention to the housing problem in Lancaster and Lebanon Counties through a lot of one-on-meetings and advocacy. Nevertheless, they are constantly looking for more volunteers to contribute to their cause.
Watch the video below to learn the importance of Habitat for Humanity’s work in providing safe and affordable housing in Lancaster and Lebanon counties:
Visit their website at www.lancasterlebanonhabitat.org to learn more about Habitat for Humanity.
