Who is North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity?
Is there a Need for Habitat for Humanity in North St. Louis County?
How does Habitat for Humanity work?
How are Donations to Habitat for Humanity used?
How are partner families selected?
How is Habitat for Humanity run?
Who is North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity?
North St Louis County Habitat for Humanity is a locally run affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing organization. Habitat for Humanity works in partnership with people in need to build and renovate decent, affordable housing. The houses then are sold to those in need at no profit and with no interest charged.
Founded as a Christian Ministry, North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity works in partnership with God and people from all walks of life to develop community with people in need by building and renovating homes, so that people can live and grow into all that God intended.
Habitat is based upon the teachings of Jesus. While Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organization, anyone who is committed to its mission, purposes and principles is invited to participate in our organization.
Habitat for Humanity is a global movement comprised of Habitat for Humanity International and national and local affiliated organizations around the world.
The need for decent and affordable housing is a worldwide challenge, and Habitat for Humanity is a global partnership response. North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity tithes (gives 10% of undesignated funds) to support house-building efforts in Mexico.
Volunteers provide most of the labor, and individual and corporate donors provide the money and materials to build Habitat houses. Partner families themselves invest hundreds of hours of labor - 'sweat equity' - into building their homes and the homes of others. Their mortgage payments go into a revolving Fund for Humanity that is used to build more houses.
Habitat for Humanity, founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller, seeks to help eliminate substandard housing from the world. North St. Louis County chapter of Habitat for Humanity became an official affiliate on September 1, 1995. This affiliate dedicated it’s first house in the summer of 1996 and since then has built a total of 23 homes in ten communities across north St. Louis County.
Is there a Need for Habitat for Humanity in North St. Louis County?
Housing is considered affordable if it consumes 30% or less of a household’s gross income. Generally when households spend more than 30% of their income to meet housing costs, they do not have enough income to meet other basic needs or to handle financial setbacks.
The current and projected unmet affordable housing need through the year 2010 in St. Louis County is conservatively estimated at 14,971 households. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the median household income for St. Louis County was $36,306.
A Household in St. Louis County would need to earn $38,040 to afford the fair market rent for a two bedroom apartment. 39% of renters pay over 30% of their household income on housing and 17% pay over 50%.
Between 1990 and 2000 home prices rose 39% while incomes rose 16% making affordable homeownership further out of reach. Approximately 14% of homeowners in St. Louis County pay over 30% of their household income on housing, and 5% pay over 50%. A family of four with two full time wage earners would need to earn a combined annual salary of $41,988 (or a wage of $10.09 per hour for each worker) to afford the basic cost of living in St. Louis County. 37% of full time workers in St. Louis County and nearby counties earn less than $10.04 per hour.
The “Quarterly Shelter Survey” by Minnesota Department of Children Families and Learning reported that on August 26, 2004, 375 people were sheltered in St Louis County, and an additional 265 people were turned away because the shelters were full. 21.3% of the people surveyed experiencing homelessness in the Northeast region are employed, 41.3% of them were working full time. (Taken from Housing Minnesota statistics November, 2004, www.housingminnesota.org)
Habitat for Humanity works with people who would not qualify for a conventional mortgage for homeownership to provide them a way out of the cycle of poverty.
How does Habitat for Humanity work?
Through volunteer expertise in building houses, volunteer labor, and tax-deductible donations of money and materials, Habitat’s objective is to build and remodel simple, decent, affordable homes for people in need. Houses are sold to partner families at no profit with a 25 year interest free mortgage. The homeowner’s monthly mortgage payments go into a revolving fund that is used to build more houses.
Habitat is not a give-away program. In addition to a small down payment and monthly interest-free mortgage payments to Habitat, each homeowner family (“partner”) invests hundreds of hours of their own labor (“sweat equity”) into the building of their home and future homes.
How are Donations to Habitat for Humanity used?
Donations of materials, land, funds or professional labor to North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity go primarily to build homes in our local communities. As an organization costs money to run, a small portion of our funding does go to running our local affiliate. Our motto in building homes, “simple, decent, affordable,” also carries over to our administrative expenses.
Partner families are not given a Habitat home. They work in partnership with Habitat by providing “sweat equity” and also paying back the cost of the home to Habitat in an affordable 0% interest, 25 year mortgage. The mortgage payments are put back into a revolving fund for the home building program.
Materials and professional labor are items that would need to be purchased if not donated. In cases where materials or professional labor have been donated the basic value of these donations are charged to the mortgage and recuperated over 25 years to be used over and over again in the building program.
As a Christian organization our affiliate also gives a tithe of our undesignated donations to go directly to building homes in Mexico. As a result of this tithe, we have built many more homes than the 23 that have been completed here locally.
How are partner families selected?
Families apply for home ownership through the North St Louis County Habitat for Humanity office. The Family Selection Committee then reviews the applications and selects homeowners based on their level of need, their willingness to become partners in the program and their ability to repay the 0% interest loan. Habitat for Humanity is an Equal Opportunity Lender.
How is Habitat for Humanity run?
North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity is a volunteer organization run by an all-volunteer governing board and volunteer committees. One staff member helps to coordinate the volunteer effort. Also vital to the success of Habitat are the communities, churches, organizations and individual volunteers that make habitat homes a reality. Without the support of these groups, and the support of individuals like you, Habitat for Humanity’s mission of eliminating poverty housing would never be attainable.
North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity, as an affiliate, maintains standards set by Habitat International and, in turn, receives information and training from it; but the affiliate is primarily responsible for all other aspects of its work. One of Habitat International’s requirements is that an affiliate tithe ten percent of its undesignated funding to help build houses in other countries, usually at a much lower cost than is possible in the United States. North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity has chosen to have its tithe sent to Habitat Mexico.
Each affiliate must also abide by state and national requirements for non-profit organizations. North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity has met and is complying with these requirements.
Do you have a question about North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity? Contact Us and we may answer it here on the website.
