Does Habitat give houses away?
No, Habitat for Humanity is not a giveaway program.
Habitat’s partner families buy the houses that Habitat builds and renovates.
Habitat makes no profit on the sale.
In our service area, Habitat homeowners purchase their houses through affordable monthly mortgage payments.
Habitat’s homeowners also invest hundreds of hours of their own labor, called sweat equity, working alongside volunteers and other Habitat homeowners.
Does Habitat only build houses for minorities?
Habitat builds houses to help people in need regardless to race. Three criteria drive the family selection process: need, ability to repay the no-profit, no-interest mortgage over a 15-30 year period and a willingness to partner with Habitat. The U.S. Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibits denying anyone housing on the basis of race, sex, creed, marital status, color or national origin. The covenant that all local affiliates sign with Habitat for Humanity International also specifies that HFH homeowner families are selected “according to criteria that do not discriminate on the basis of race, creed or ethnic background.”
Are Habitat homeowners on welfare?
While some do receive public assistance, most homeowners work at low-wage jobs. Habitat for Humanity works in good faith with people who often are at risk in society, knowing that owning a home is not the answer to every problem, but can be an important step – often the first step – toward helping people break out of the cycle of poverty.
How are donations distributed and used?
We rely on gifts from individuals, corporations and other groups to fund our house-building mission. All donations of any amount are deeply appreciated and help us build more decent, affordable houses with more families in our local communities.
Designated donations are allocated in support of the U.S. affiliate, national organization or program of the donor’s choosing.
Who controls and manages Albany Area Habitat for Humanity?
An ecumenical, board of directors, who are deeply concerned about the problems of poverty housing.
The Habitat office is operated by an administrative staff, professional support employees, and volunteers.
How does Habitat work with the government?
We ask legislators and housing regulators to increase support for affordable homeownership and eliminate poverty housing.
We monitor public policies related to housing, community and international development.
We advocate for policies that will increase access to decent, affordable housing for people around the world.
We accept government funds as long as they have no conditions that would violate our principles or limit our ability to proclaim our Christian identity.