March 2nd
Today was a day of education, empowerment and exercise. We arrived at Habitat for Humanity to receive an orientation for the week working on site by our Americorp volunteer Virginia. She spoke about the history of Habitat founded by Millard Fuller and since his work Habitat has served around 9 million people in 70 countries.
In Tacoma/Pierce County, they have built over 280 homes since 1985. Habitat’s main goal is to provide permanent housing affordability for individuals by partnering with families to first build the home and then provide an affordable mortgage. Something that stood out to all of us was the concept that Habitat emphasizes which is, this process of building a home, being a “hand up” not a “hand out”. Families must agree to work 200 hours of “sweat equity” working along side habitat workers and volunteers to build these beautiful homes. In addition to this, families take classes to learn about the power and responsibilities around home owning. Providing that education is a key aspect in this because having that knowledge of what it means to be a successful homeowner is so empowering.
There is quite a bit more I could say about Habitat but I think the main take away is the impact of Habitat’s work. Virginia emphasized that when individuals and families become homeowners they have sense of relief but also empowerment. Homeowners are more likely to vote. Children of homeowners are more likely to graduate from college and become homeowners themselves. Habitat has been very successful in keeping people in their housing which helps generate a community that families can depend on.
Later in the morning we had the opportunity to speak to a panel of community members in Tacoma. Daniel Murillo, the Housing Division Manager in the City of Manager, Maureen Fife the CEO of Habitat and Amanda DeShazo, who works for Tacoma Affordable Housing Consortium.
Each individual plays a different role in regards to affordable housing but they also all worked really close together when addressing this issue In Tacoma. An important takeaway from this panel was how complex this issue is and the importance of solidarity among individuals and companies working on providing more affordable housing. It isn’t on just one group of individuals or nonprofit to “solve” affordable housing.
Another key take away from this panel was addressing the challenges of affordable housing. One of these being money. Not only is building a home very expensive but the restrictions that come with where non-profits like Habitat get the money. This is part of Daniel’s role where he works to fund a lot of the projects around affordable housing. Another challenge that comes up is the community. Both Maureen and Amanda work to advocate to encourage communities to pass housing levies that will help provide funds for housing. In addition, speaking to members of the community to ensure that the housing being built is what the community wants. Providing a vision to the community is just as important.
The last point I want to touch on is the stigma and stereotype on who is receiving this housing. There is a wide range of people who receive these services and working to break these stigmas and stereotypes is so important. I think this connects to one of our Moreau Center Commitments of Solidarity. We are all human beings who deserve a home, community and love. Maureen spoke about bringing a face to those receiving affordable housing is one way to break these stigmas and help people realize that it isn’t just one group of people that need housing affordability.
It’s very challenging to sum up an almost 2 hour panel because of the complexity of this issue but I think we all came out of the panel feeling more educated and empowered ourselves on this. I personally was very grateful for the opportunity to speak to these individuals and for them to give their time to share their knowledge on this topic.
After the panel we drove to the beautiful Point Defiance park to have lunch and go on a very refreshing and needed hike. (photos below!) We ended our day on a delicious spaghetti meal and night of reflection and games. There is an eagerness and excitement to get on site tomorrow and help build some homes!
Sophia Riccardi