HABITAT FOR HUMANITYVolunteers make home ownership
a reality for low-income families
By KAREN KOLIVOSKY
Photography JEFFREY TRUITT

New neighborhoods continue to pop up throughout San Antonio, but none like one on the city’s South Side.

The neighborhood is almost halfway complete, with 110 sturdy, modest homes standing and more new ones in the works. All of the workers pounding nails, laying floors and caulking windows are volunteers, including current and future residents of the community.

The entire neighborhood is being built through Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio, which gives the opportunity of home ownership to San Antonio’s poorest families. In the organization’s 31-year history here, more than 530 San Antonio families have worked with Habitat for Humanity to own their own homes.

In 2008, Habitat and its volunteers will build 45 new homes in the neighborhood, located near Palo Alto College. The families there all have household incomes so low (on average, $20,000 per year) that if not for Habitat for Humanity, they would have little chance of ever owning a home.

By donating their time to build Habitat houses, low-income families earn the opportunity to have their own affordable home with an interestfree mortgage.

“Habitat is a huge self-help program,” says Stephanie Wiese, vice president of development and communications for Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio. “We’re looking for families that want to help themselves.”

All Habitat homeowners contribute 300 hours of “sweat equity” to qualify for the program, donating hours to build other homes in the neighborhood in addition to working on their own. They all attend 15 to 22 hours of homeowner education classes, learning about maintaining their homes, property taxes, even tips for conflict resolution with neighbors.

Volunteer labor helps Habitat keep homes affordable for low-income families, with interest-free mortgages. The organization makes no profit on the homes. Homeowners pay a monthly mortgage of between $375 and $425, including insurance and taxes, for a simple three- or four-bedroom home with one or two bathrooms.

Habitat’s goal is to keep housing at no more than 30 percent of the homeowner’s income. More than half of the poverty-level households in San Antonio pay more than 50 percent of their income for rent, according to statistics cited by the organization.

“We’re the only home builder really serving that population of families,” Wiese says. “Our goal is to help eliminate poverty housing in San Antonio.”

IMPROVING LIVES
For Valerie Carrion, the house that her family and other volunteers are now constructing will create a strong foundation for her, her fiancé and their 20-month-old daughter. The couple had looked into other home ownership programs before, but all were too expensive, requiring big down payments and closing costs beyond their budget.

“When they told me about the program and what I had to do, I said, ‘This is in my budget. I can afford this,’” Carrion says. “If I would have gotten a brand-new house some other way, I probably would have lost it or barely be squeezing by.”

Carrion and her fiancé began working with Habitat while living with his mother after their landlord sold the house they were renting. They started by volunteering in Habitat’s warehouse and assisting with the construction of other homes in the Palo Alto community. Now, they’re working on their own.

With help from family members, both have managed to build up the requisite number of volunteer hours while juggling full-time jobs and the care of their daughter. Carrion’s house was sponsored by St. Mark’s Catholic Church, which provided funding and volunteers to help construct the home.

Carrion, a call center employee, is also appreciative of the education she’s received from volunteering on the Habitat construction sites.

“I actually feel like I know more. I’m going to appreciate my house more than anybody else,” she says. “I built it, I helped it come up. I’m really grateful. It’s something to call my own.”

REAL NEED
While home ownership changes the lives of individual families, the benefits ripple throughout the city.

Children of homeowners are more likely to be in school at the age of 17 than children of renters, are more likely to graduate from high school and less likely to become pregnant during their teenage years, according to research cited by Habitat officials.

They’re also 116 percent more likely to graduate from college and are 59 percent more likely to own their own home within 10 years of moving from their parents’ household.

In San Antonio, approximately 12,000 low-income renter households live in physically deficient housing, the highest rate among major U.S. cities. Half of those live in overcrowded housing with other families.

However, despite the need, it can be a challenge to reach families who qualify. Prospective homeowners must have a stable work history, must meet financial criteria and, most importantly, must be willing to work hard to make their home a reality.

“We’re not a typical giveaway program,” Wiese says. “We try to really work with families at the beginning to help them be successful.”

MAKING IT HAPPEN: VOLUNTEERS AND FUNDING
Prospective Habitat homeowners work alongside other volunteers, performing chores as varied as swinging hammers, serving lunch or picking up trash. On any given weekend throughout the year, there are as many as 400 Habitat for Humanity volunteers working to build houses for San Antonio families.

In all, more than 12,000 community volunteers give their time to support Habitat’s mission each year. They come independently or from area churches, businesses and other organizations. Most of Habitat’s construction takes place on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays to accommodate the work schedules of volunteers.

Working on the homes of others is almost as rewarding as building your own home, Carrion says. With her own home near completion and her “sweat equity” hours tallying far beyond the basic requirement, Carrion plans to continue helping once she and her family move into the home.

“Whenever I volunteer, I really feel good about myself doing something. I feel like I still want to give back,” she says.

Part of Habitat’s success of getting families in homes is based on its ability to use 100 percent of donations strictly for homes. All administrative expenses are supported by the organization’s Home Centers, home improvement thrift shops where the public can shop for new and used home items.

While other Habitat for Humanity affiliates use the Home Center concept, San Antonio’s program is the largest one in the country, Wiese says.

The centers stock everything from light fixtures, doors and windows to new furniture and paint. Once, a donated baby grand piano made it onto the sales floor, Wiese says. Often, owners of older homes will browse the stores to look for retro-style fixtures for their homes. The stores offer a treasure hunt of revolving inventory, with much of it donated by homeowners and remodelers disposing of materials following renovations.

“It’s a great way to reuse materials, keep things out of the landfill and help Habitat,” Wiese says.

In addition to its main location at 311 Probandt and another center at 5482 Walzem, Habitat recently opened up a third location at 8125 Meadow Leaf Drive. The first two locations each include a full-scale model of a typical Habitat for Humanity home.

Donations of building materials to the Home Centers are always in demand, Wiese says. In addition, funding is another ongoing need, from individual donations to corporate sponsorships.

For more information on Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio, call (210) 223-5203 or visit online at www.habitatsa.org.