Habitat ready to expand

By LAURA BEHENNA

Bigfork Eagle

Habitat for Humanity of Flathead Valley is poised to expand its mission to eliminate substandard housing with an ambitious goal of building 10 homes a year by 2009, board president Dave Williams said Friday.

Many people believe Habitat serves only the poorest of the poor, Williams said, but in reality, hundreds of families are eligible for Habitat homes and simply aren’t aware the organization can help them.

“We have a large population of people who could qualify,” Habitat’s new executive director, Patti Gregerson, said. Gregerson, former vice president and chief operating officer of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, started her new job in April.

The substandard housing Habitat aims to eliminate doesn’t mean only dilapidated shacks. Substandard housing includes rented houses and mobile homes landlords don’t maintain, or any housing that’s too small for the family’s needs.

To be eligible for Habitat, a family must be able to pay a modest mortgage, pass a credit check, learn essential homeownership skills, and be able to contribute 500 hours of “sweat equity” toward helping build their own home and other Habitat homes.

“We talk about giving families a hand up, not a handout,” Williams said.

Families may be asked to speak in public about building their home and how it has changed their lives.

“We expect them to stay tight with Habitat for a long time,” Williams said. “If you’re one of those families, it’s one of the best things that ever happened to you in your entire life.”

Habitat homes look like other high-quality new homes and easily fit into almost any neighborhood, he said. Some people worry that having a Habitat home nearby will lower their property values — until they see how attractive an actual Habitat house looks. A house typically costs around $90,000, mostly for land and materials. Volunteer labor keeps building costs low, making the house affordable for a low-income family.

Habitat doesn’t bring low-income people in from outside the community, Williams said.

“Typically they’re already in the community and in substandard housing,” he said. They’re teachers, firefighters, tradespeople, cashiers, store clerks, waitresses, caregivers and news reporters: in other words, “the person who serves you,” he said.

Williams talks to several people a day about Habitat, spreading the truth about what the organization does and how interested persons can get involved.

And people want to get involved. Businesspeople in particular understand how much the affordable housing shortage in the Flathead limits their ability to grow their enterprises, and they’re eager to help.

“Small businesses are very successful and can grow, opening new markets,” Gregerson observed. But businesses can’t grow without employees, and would-be employees don’t want to live and work in a place where they can’t find decent housing.

Habitat currently has no shortage of volunteers, although new people with a variety of skills are always welcome. Even finances aren’t critical anymore. An anonymous donor recently gave enough money to pay for an entire new house.

“Even developers are asking, ‘What can I do?’” Williams said. “We’re cultivating relationships. Everyone can help. There’s something for everybody to do.”

Habitat does have two major needs to fill, however. One is families who want to apply for homes. The other is land on which to build the new homes.

“There’s land out there,” Williams asserted. “Land is not a problem we can’t overcome. People have enough land; they have enough money.”

People with a parcel of land they might like to sell or donate to Habitat may call Williams at 212-0128 or e-mail him at jdwilliams@centurytel.net.

Potential volunteers and families interested in getting a Habitat house may call the Habitat office at 257-8800.