The Affordable Housing Cause

The place in which we live-- be it a house, an apartment, a high-rise, Section 8 housing, a teepee, the Biltmore Estate-- is a major character in our lives. It is where we spend the majority of our time. It is where the bonds with other people are first formed, the setting for interaction with family. It is the ground where first steps are made, launching pad for first days of school, photo backdrop for senior proms. A home’s front door may be the threshold through which many new couples enter. In a few words, it is like the physical embodiment of a family photo-album, the place where memories are both made and stored.

It is also where, as and adult, much of one’s financial and personal investment is represented. Being able to obtain quality housing leads to some of life’s proudest moments: moving into one’s first place away from the parents, owning one’s own first home, having the equity from a house to take out a loan and start one’s own business. We as a country even go so far as to make owning a home part of the cultural ‘American Dream’, though white picket fences are less popular than they used to be.

On the opposite side of the coin, because housing’s importance is so central to our lives it can be one of the biggest detriments and burdens. The loss of a home from fire, flood, or other natural disaster can be devastating both financially and psychologically. The inability to afford quality housing leads some people to accept living in situations with overcrowding, excessive cold or heat, noise, pests, lack of security, structural deficiencies, mold-- the list goes on and on. Others are forced to pay a disproportionate percentage of their income to obtain decent housing.

The lack of cheap housing can compound the problems of poverty, making it harder to save or allocate toward food, healthcare or other important needs. According to statistics from Habitat for Humanity 95 million people, about 1/3 of the nation, have housing problems including overcrowding, poor quality shelter, homelessness, and high-cost burden (about 16 million paying over 50% of their income toward housing).

The National and World Housing Plight

The recent bursting of the ‘housing bubble’ and the resulting recession has created an increase of a two-pronged affliction: home foreclosures and job losses. Last year saw the collapse of the housing market as sub-prime loans from poor investments shook banks worldwide. In the shuffle, it wasn’t just people who had bought McMansions and couldn’t afford them who lost their houses. As the recession kicked in and people lost their jobs, even responsible families became unable to pay for the house they owned.

According to the US Department of Labor, since the beginning of the recession the number of unemployed people has increased by 7.6 million to a total of 15.1 million; the unemployment rate has doubled to 9.8% as of October. In turn the percentage of foreclosures in the second quarter of 2009, according to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, was at a record high of 9.12% out of all mortgage loans.

People in this rough financial situation face the sobering possibilities of downgrading to substandard housing quality or, on the drastic end, to transitional shelters or tent cities. Last year when I served in AmeriCorps in Sacramento, CA, a tent city there reached national prominence for its 200+ residents along the American River Greenway. Local newspapers were filled with stories of regular people pushed out of jobs and out of houses by the unfortunate financial situation. Living in the tent community was their last and very unwanted option.

It is also important not just to look within our borders at the problem of substandard housing; it is a global issue worthy of addressing. According to Habitat for Humanity International, presently about a billion people—32% of the world’s urban population—live in urban slums. If no action is taken, according to the UN, that number will double in the next 30 years.

Through all of this, one can easily see that at this point in history the need for decent, affordable housing is particularly strong in America and the rest of the world.

The Response

There are many organizations nationwide that address the problems of affordable housing. Some provide financial counseling to low-income families. Others seek to build affordable housing from the ground up. I will focus on two model organizations that work to create quality affordable housing, one of which I have already mentioned, Habitat for Humanity and Rebuilding Together. These two organizations serve the needs respectively of creating new affordable houses (Habitat) and rehabilitating and repairing existing homes to make them safer, accessible and energy efficient (Rebuilding).

Benefits of Affordable Housing

These organizations seek to create new homeowners and bolster existing ones. Studies have shown that homeownership has countless benefits for the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities.

According to Habitat for Humanity, better housing results in better prevention and care for viral and bacterial infections, asthma, anemia, stunted growth, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, diarrhea, and malaria. Owning quality housing improves the mental health of families and individuals by providing stability and giving a sense of dignity and pride. Studies have also shown that feelings of alienation and depression as well as other mental health problems occur less often in families in houses. This is especially important for children—a safe place to play is important for development, and research shows that behavioral problems are fewer and test scores higher in children who live in houses.

Housing also helps the economic stability of individuals and communities. Homeownership is an important means for low-income families to accumulate wealth savings and establish credit. In a community, quality homes promote economic investment and development and create better school systems. These strong communities are safer with less crime. Individuals in these communities tend to encourage civic engagement and typically vote more often.

How They Work

Habitat is one of the most popular charitable organizations in the nation, endorsed by former president Jimmy Carter and countless pro-sports teams. Before this year I knew the name well, but I didn’t know exactly what they did and how they worked…

As I have discovered, Habitat makes home-ownership financially feasible by offering no-interest loans to families based on their level of need, their willingness to become partners in the program and their ability to repay the loan. Homeowners become partners in the program through an application process and by contributing Sweat Equity hours—working 250-500 hours of service on theirs and other homeowners’ houses before they can move in. Thus, as a former site leader of mine would say every morning before the build, “Habitat is not a hand-out, but a hand-up.”

Homeowners must also pay for the cost of the house, a task made more accessible since Habitat keeps costs down by using volunteer labor and donated or discounted materials and plots. This means that the homeowners in their no-interest loans pay only for the ‘sticks and bricks’ that went into their house.

The money from the loans then goes back into the affiliate to fund further builds. Habitat also is helped run through the popular Habitat Restore, a discount store for donated construction materials [also a great way to recycle old stuff].

My Story

I first found myself working with Habitat for Humanity last April during my fourth project in my year with AmeriCorps NCCC. NCCC is a team-based national service organization for 18-24 year-olds that works on a variety of full-time 5-10 week projects. While my campus was based out of Sacramento, CA, all of our campuses split time between our home regions and the Gulf area due to the dire need post-hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike. My team and I lived and worked in a neighborhood of Lafayette, LA, a city in the heart Cajun country in central-southern Louisiana.

There we worked with homeowners and volunteers on two houses in our neighborhood. We started with one house being roofed and another just a blank concrete slab. By the end, both had finished exteriors and were ready for interior painting. We were even able to perform a blitz build during our last week, framing up the exteriors of two more houses before we left.

The great part about my experience with building in Lafayette was the fact that I was able to live in a Habitat community and talk quite a bit with my neighbors. Most were former residents of New Orleans. Many shared stories of their escape from Katrina and of the subsequent diasporas of their families and neighborhoods. Many spent weeks or months in shelters and were left traumatized and out of touch of loved ones. One neighbor was only now just being able to organize a first family reunion since the hurricane. When the waters receded in NOLA, most discovered their homes destroyed and their old neighborhoods had become war zones. Through such trauma, Habitat was there to bring some level of stability back into their life. It’s amazing what a roof overhead in a safe area can do for someone.

I have found that affordable housing programs Habitat succeed because they don’t just build homes, they create communities. Because of Habit’s Sweat Equity requirement, the homeowners had all worked with each other building theirs or their neighbor’s houses. This bond meant they all knew and looked out for each other. During evenings when we would sit or cook on our porch we would be greeted by all of our neighbors as they walked back and forth to each other’s houses. As a result of this sense of community, the area was safer, quieter, and friendlier than the surrounding neighborhoods. It was great to see firsthand what the claims that the organization promotes through its research—affordable houses builds strong communities.

Bike and Build

My next step in helping out with the cause of affordable housing has been through the Bike and Build organization. Bike and Build is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that raises money for affordable housing organizations including but not limited to Habitat for Humanity. The organization's mission is to... "End poverty housing. Through fund-raising cycling trips, Bike & Build raises money for and awareness of affordable housing efforts. Our events act as a catalyst to build homes, foster the spirit of service, and empower young adults... mile by mile, house by house."

The mission of the program is carried out most visibly through a biking tour of the United States from east coast to west coast, stopping in cities to volunteer at different affordable housing affiliates. In eight different routes across the country, young volunteers (18-25 years old) in groups of about thirty trek through amber waves of grain and purple mountain majesty alike and visit almost every state in the contiguous United States (as well as one Canadian province). The trips average about 70 miles a day and stop weekly for days in which to volunteer at build sites.

I personally will be biking on the Central US route next summer, a trip that starts in Virginia Beach, VA and ends in Cannon Beach, OR outside of Portland. The trip visits such highlights as the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia...


the rolling hills of Brown County, IN...


the sunflower fields of Kansas...


Estes Park in the Rockies of Colorado...


Dinosaur National Monument of Utah...


the Teton Pass of Wyoming...

the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho...


and Haystack Rock on the Coast of Oregon.

How You Can Help

Donate to Bike and Build!

Help me on my trip across the nation by donating at the Bike and Build website. To sponsor me by check or money order, make checks payable to ‘Bike and Build’ with my name [Jesse Bright] on the memo line.

Send checks to…

Bike & Build
6109 Ridge Ave, Bldg 2
Philadelphia, PA 19128

Help me spread the word!

If you know of an organization, a church group, a club that would like to hear about Bike and Build and affordable housing, please forward me the contact info.

Check out my blog!

I am currently making updates about the affordable housing issue. Once the trip begins, I will be giving updates in the form of a travelogue. Follow me, and feel free to leave any encouragement you can.

Donate monetarily to your local affiliate!

Donate to Habitat. Donate to Rebuilding together. Any and all funds are appreciated.

Donate your old stuff!

Habitat Restore helps build more houses through its Restore. Donate materials you don’t need, shop for discounted materials that you do. It’s one of the easiest ways to help.

Donate your time!

For Habitat anyone 16 or older is eligible to help build, regardless of experience. Site managers are very adept at helping teach construction skills and directing jobs. If construction isn’t your thing, there is always help needed in the office and at the Restore. Since many of the builds close down during the winter months, this is a good way to continue to help.

For Rebuilding together, the nearest large scale build event is scheduled for April—National Rebuilding Day. Sign up with the local affiliate near the date to help.

In like Flynn

I am officially a cyclist for the 2010 Central United States route for Bike and Build. Now is the time that I further educate myself in order to educate other on the nature of the affordable housing issue as well as the nature of the Bike and Build organization itself.

Here's a useful link that I gathered from a 2009 cyclist's blog about the cost breakdown of the B&B organization... http://www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/content/view/116/239/

I'll fill you all in as I gather more.

Opening

This is the first of many posts in regards to my next big adventure-- biking across the nation with Bike and Build (Summer 2010). While my paperwork has yet to fully go through, I'm feeling pretty good about this as my next big project.

I feel the need to give the newcomer, or perhaps the long-time reader of my former AmeriCorps NCCC blog, an idea of what Bike and Build is all about. Bike and Build is a nonprofit organization that works as a fund raising sponsor, an advocate for attention, and direct workers for affordable housing nonprofits. These nonprofits include, but are not limited to, Habitat for Humanity.

The mission of the program is is carried out most visibly through a biking tour of the United States from east coast to west coast, stopping in cities to volunteer at different affordable housing affiliates. In eight different routes across the country, young volunteers (18-25 years old) in groups of about thirty trek through amber waves of grain and purple mountain majesty alike and visit almost every state in the contiguous United States (as well as one Canadian province). The trips average about 70 miles a day and stop weekly for days in which to volunteer at build sites.

The many of the goals of the program are performed off the saddle. Before the trips begin (throughout May and June, btw) the cyclists are obligated to have raised a minimum of $4000. This money goes to grants for different affordable housing affiliates and to equip the subsequent rides. The equipment of these rides, however, is planned thriftily. Bikes for the trip are bought at a discount, and almost all of the nightly stays are hosted by volunteers-- churches, schools, community centers.

While raising the money in the prior year, the cyclists also perform the dual mission of informing the public on the subject of affordable housing. This includes town-hall style meetings during stops on the trip or the presentation of individual cyclists in the prior year at churches, clubs, and other organizations. This not only increases the base of donors for affordable housing organizations, it inspires others to go out and volunteer and become a part of the effort themselves.

Well with that said, I will explain myself a bit. I am a 2008 graduate of DePauw University and have currently just finished a year with AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (Class 15) in the Pacific Region. I am currently living back home in Indianapolis and am working with the goals of participating in Bike and Build as well as attending graduate school in Biochemistry next year.

My year in AmeriCorps has given me an increased appreciation for service-- especially the mission of the Habitat affiliate I worked with this May: eliminating substandard housing. This spring I spent 6 weeks working full time with Habitat of Lafayette, LA. The project was one of the highlights of the year. My team and I lived in the Habitat-built neighborhood of 14 houses in Lafayette; this presented a unique environment to view the organization. The neighborhood was a beacon of safety and friendliness in a surrounding area of gang-related crime. The residents had all helped build each others houses as part of the program and thus appreciated and watched out for each other. Hearing their stories and being invited into their homes was a treat, and working alongside the to-be homeowners gave me a sense of the hope and relief that comes from Habitat's mission.

Where I stand now is an area of limbo. I am still waiting to hear back from Bike and Build for approval of my status on the Providence, RI to Seattle, WA route (my first choice). In the mean time I am planning out my means of fund-raising and creating a network of groups to visit to spread the message. Where I could use help at the present is any ideas for fund raising as well as any churches, clubs, or organizations that would be willing to hear me speak. Any suggestions and pledges for donations are appreciated. Wish me luck, and stay tuned for more posts! Cheers!