Building Homes, Building Hope in St. Joseph County and Beyond

Building Homes, Building Hope in St. Joseph County and Beyond
by Staci Lugar-Brettin

For decades Habitat for Humanity has been transforming lives by building homes for families. But make no mistake – this is not a program that simply gives homes away. Families who are eligible for Habitat homes must have an income that provides for adequate means to cover the no-interest mortgage that Habitat holds, while investing over 300 hours of “sweat equity” in building the home. Habitat also provides a program called Cornerstone, which provides 45 hours of instruction on topics including personal financial management (including balancing a checkbook and household budgeting) and how to maintain a home. Richard Dueringer, Development Director of Habitat for Humanity in Saint Joseph County, says Habitat’s mission is clear: “Habitat for Humanity transforms neighborhoods, and communities, by helping families partner with us to build their dreams of home ownership.”

Habitat for Humanity is both an international and local organization. Internationally, Habitat for Humanity builds homes for families all over the world. One example of this, from www.Habitat.org, is that the organization is heavily involved in earthquake relief in Pakistan, and is working to raise over $1 million to begin reconstruction for Pakistani families.

Local Habitat affiliates, like the Habitat for Humanity of Saint Joseph County, operate their organization in line with the principles of Habitat International, while working to develop funding for their local projects. In fact, in recent years, the Habitat affiliate in Saint Joseph County has built 6-10 houses per year. Dueringer, says he would like to do even more in 2006. “Our goal is to eradicate substandard housing in this county. Our partner families are in a large group one might call the ‘working poor.’ They earn less that 50% of the median family income in the county, but with a minimum income of $14,000. My heart goes out to those families. They are hard working people, as deserving as anyone of a simple decent house. Yet their income levels keep their dream of home ownership always just out of reach, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty. For many, our business model at Habitat is the only legitimate chance.”

For those who are involved with Habitat, personal transformation is inevitable. Dueringer recalls one Habitat build where a neighbor noticed that volunteers were having difficulty with a broken roof-nailing tool. The neighbor offered his tool to replace the broken one, and the volunteers restarted their work. From his yard next door, the neighbor watched as the volunteers completed their tasks that day. The very next morning the neighbor told volunteers that he was a professional roofer, and that he would be happy to help them complete their roof work. Says Dueringer, “The neighbor understood the importance that home would have on the Habitat family, and welcomed the family by lending a helping hand. That’s the kind of community Habitat wants to build.”

And Habitat of Saint Joseph County finds ways to build community across state lines when disaster strikes. One local man, Gene Winters, recently experienced the depth of Habitat’s commitment to building better lives for the families Habitat serves.
Winters worked with Habitat to help build a home for his wife’s parents, and when Winters’ mother recently lost her Texas home to Hurricane Rita, Habitat of Saint Joseph County stepped in to help. This local Habitat affiliate offered its expertise in partnership with the local Texas Habitat supporters to rebuild Winters’ mother’s home. This is just one more example of how deeply Habitat cares about the families and communities it serves.

Another way Habitat of Saint Joseph County is rebuilding lives is through its new retail outlet called ReStore. Located at 920 E. McKinley Avenue in Mishawaka. ReStore offers quality building materials at prices that are significantly lower than traditional home improvement retailers. Local businesses and consumers donate these tax-deductible materials, and all profits from ReStore sales are directly invested in building homes. Local consumers and Habitat families alike benefit from this lower cost options for home improvement and maintenance. According to Habitat, “ReStore strives to build partnerships within the local community to strengthen families and neighborhoods in the process.”

The original Habitat ReStore began as a warehouse location in Austin, Texas, designed to house building supplies for its affiliates until the materials were needed for a building project. Today, consumers can often find high-quality cabinets, carpet, flooring, electrical fixtures, antique doors and restoration items, masonry supplies, furniture, windows, and even appliances at ReStore in Mishawaka.