Neighborhood News

Building Homes, Building Hope

As spring rolls in, residents all over the City are gearing up for home beautification and repair projects. However, with city-wide poverty levels far above the national average, many of our friends and neighbors are being forced to tighten their belts and forego these much needed home repairs. With our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live, Genesee County Habitat for Humanity is working to bridge this gap by providing home repair services to qualifying homeowners in the City of Flint. Examples of repairs that will be covered through this program include roofing repair, siding replacement, wheelchair ramp construction, and interior systems repairs such as electric, plumbing, and heating.

As a pilot project to test the long-term sustainability of the program, 2015 repair projects will be limited to qualifying homeowners in Flint’s Civic Park, Grand Traverse District, and Mott Park neighborhoods, as well as homeowners in the Foss Ave. Neighborhood located east of I-475. In order to qualify for the program, residents must own and inhabit the property for which service is requested. They must also be up-to-date on all property taxes and insurance. Qualifying households must also make less than 80% of the city-wide median income.

An important component of Habitat’s mission is that repair services are provided in collaboration with partner families – not just given away. This model of sweat-equity is essential to the success and long-term sustainability of Habitat programs. As part of this model, participating households must contribute 3% of project cost and provide 8 hours of sweat-equity in support of the project (for example, a $6,000 project would require a $180 contribution and 8 hours of sweat-equity). Sweat-equity can take many forms and is accommodating of all ages and ability levels. For those who are able, sweat-equity could mean working hand-in-hand with repair crews. For those with less mobility, it could mean providing lunch or refreshments to repair crews. From cleaning up the worksite to volunteering at Habitat’s ReStore, there are limitless ways for partner families to put their sweat-equity into a project.

If you or anyone you know qualifies and would like to benefit from these services, please contact Genesee County Habitat for Humanity at (810)766-9089 ext. 206 or jzuniga@geneseehabitat.org. Don’t know if you qualify? Contact us, or come into our offices at 101 Burton St., Flint, MI 48503, and we will help guide you through the application process.

As a 2015-2017 National Affiliate of Distinction, Genesee County Habitat for Humanity seeks to put God’s love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities, and hope. As such, this program is just one facet of a much larger ministry that Habitat carries out within Flint and Genesee County, and it’s only through the support and tireless commitment of our community and family partners that we are able to successfully make this work possible. For more information about Genesee County Habitat for Humanity and the work that we do, visit our website at www.geneseehabitat.org or like us on Facebook.

Click here to see the flyer for the Genesee County Habitat for Humanity Home Repair Program.